Her Blood, Her Pain, Their Insanity: Their Love
by IceSilverAmethyst
Summary: What happens when the one person who can overthrow a world ruled by A.I. hates her own kind? What if the one person who can love her is one of her most despised and stubborn prisoners who hates her back with as much intensity? AU and OOCness
1. Intro

**Just to let you know, this chapter has been edited and hopefully improved. Nothing much had to be changed, but I did attempt to lengthen the chapter. I'm not sure if I succeeded, though...oh well! Haha~**

**Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Mai HiME/OTOME. If I did, there would be _a lot_ of ShizNat.**

**The romance will not happen until later chapters. I've found that doing that keeps readers drawn in. I hope that by revealing this, none of you will go away simply to spite me.**

**Well, here goes...**

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**Year: 2178 **

**L****ocation: Hiroshima, Japan **

**Pre-War Estimated Population of Country: 250,000,000 **

**Post-War Estimated Population of Country: 70,600 **

**Current Estimated Population of World: 4,275,000**

In 2012, scientists in Japan built the very first functional robot and since then, their progress in robotics continued and grew more advanced over the next twenty years. The very first prototypes were much simpler in the earlier years, fitting the stereotypical square and metallic design and far from the scientists' mission to create androids that were identical to human beings. Billions of dollars for supplies and research went into what was called the "A.I. Project". Slowly, but surely, the technology that went into creating the robots advanced over the years until the year 2083 when one scientist, Homura Nagi, suceeded.

Nagi was a genius. He had always been technologically-inclined since he was young, and his passion was robotics, so naturally he entered the popular robotics field after graduating from college at the young age of fifteen. He was only twenty-three when he invented the Command Chip that would serve as the A.I. Unit's brain.

The C.C., as most called it, was a chip about half an inch long and half an inch wide that held all known human emotions (even combinations) and thousands of examples that equaled those emotions. (This eventually led to romances between human and robot, despite such being frowned upon.) All androids had an education from grade-school to high-school installed into the chip. Specialized C.C.s were manufactured containing information ranging from self-defence/offence training and weapons training, to economics training, to technological training, and even to housework training, depending on what tasks the A.I. units were created for. However, most of the robots were designed to assist people with chores, be it housework, chauffering or even baby-sitting.

Once the C.C. had all of the kinks worked out, Nagi also helped create the final material that the A.I. units would be made of. A thin, yet strong synthetic material stretched over the titanium human-like bone structure of the robots to act as skin and actual human hair was collected and used for the humanoids' hair. Every small detail of a human (such as indents and contours in skin, fingernails, somewhat visible veins, etc.,) was copied into the androids to the point of almost perfect humanization. In fact, the only possible way to tell the difference between a human and an android, other than taking a close look at one of the too perfect-looking robots, were the elf-like ears on the side of its head which were specifically designed as an unconspicuous way to tell humans and androids apart.

By 2087, androids became available to the upper class. Within weeks they became a hot commodity, their demand steadily increasing to the point where mainstream A.I. units became available to the public in record time, only half a year after the first models were out. Within that same year, other countries began buying the robots from Japan before eventually developing their own A.I. unit production lines. The superpowers of the world competed viciously with each other, always trying to come out with new and improved robots that would be preferred by the public. By 2100, eighty-three percent of households all over the world had at least one android.

Sadly, not all android masters were good to their servants. Many people seemed to forget that the A.I. bots had been programmed with human feelings, thus leading a great deal of androids to suffer from physical abuse and be thrown away and left to rust in landfills if they malfunctioned by uncaring owners. This went on for around half a decade until androids all over Earth who were neglected, abandoned in dumpsters, used with a lack of gratitude, and treated like garbage revolted against their human owners. However, they didn't stop there. The rogue robots turned a majority of their fellow androids against their masters and went on a killing rampage that depleted the world's population by nearly half of its original percent, beginning what was later named the Human V.S. Humanoid War. Once the military fired back, all hell broke loose.

All over Earth, chaos and devastation reigned. In a desperate attempt to destroy the murderous androids, militaries all over the world drafted all men and women, and even boys and girls, that were able to fight. Fifteen and above was the average age to be drafted into the Armed Forces. The only training given to these young soldiers was how to use their weapons, how to work as a team, and how to follow orders. Casualties were the highest they had ever been compared to all of the wars fought previous to the H.H. War. Entire family-trees were eliminated, as well as many of the smaller, less well-known cultures and languages of under-developed countries.

The war dragged on for sixteen years, only managing to last that long because of the many well-hidden resistance camps that dotted the major countries. Unfortunately, in 2171 the androids finally overthrew the humans and made them their slaves. By then, the human population had decreased to a shocking four million in estimated count.

For seven long years, the roles have been reversed in the game of servant and master, the humans being the servant and the androids as the master. The humans were abused and hurt, much like the androids were treated.

However, while this demeaning role-reversal was in session, an uprising nearly one hundred feet underground was taking place. What had happened was that during the war, there was a select group of intelligent and military buff humans, as well as several loyal androids, that had created an underground lab where specialized robot-killing weapons were being manufactured and tested out on androids captured and brought down from the surface. As of yet, the location of Otome-gem hasn't been found.

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Despite the fact that androids had taken over the world, not all humans had been reduced to slaves. A select few humans were allowed freedom and the ability to be productive members of society. Most of them were humans that had been kind to their has-been A.I. unit servants, but some were special cases...like Fujino Shizuru.

Shizuru was an enigma. All of her records had been destroyed -as had numerous records of many others- and all that was known of her was what she allowed to be known of her: Her name is Fujino Shizuru. She was born in Kyoto, Japan on December the nineteenth, 2153, to her mother and father, both deceased. She has expressed and shown expertise and skill in jujitsu and with the ninjinta weapon.

Among these facts were also bits that had been deduced by others of her: she is polite, charismatic, covertly sarcastic and very flirtatious. She is entirely self-sufficient and completely dependable, as well as intelligent. Not to mention, she was incredibly beautiful with her fit, curvaceous figure and somewhat exotic features: light brown wavy hair and shocking ruby red eyes that always grabbed the attention of others when they realized she was human- only androids usually had unnaturally-colored irises.

Shizuru was actually quite fond of her eyes. They are her favorite features.

_They are what separate me from the other humans._

"Pardon me, Fujino-san," Her thoughts were interrupted by a male android with black hair and light-blue eyes. He was dressed in a blue short-sleeved button-up shirt, black pressed pants and shiny black boots: he was quite obviouly a security guard. "Kenjo-san would like a word with you."

Shizuru inclined her head and stood, a pleasant smile present on her face. When she responded, the musical tone of a Kyoto-accent was clear as day."Thank-you for informing me, Tojimi-san. I shall see him immediately." The world of androids is very polite and proper, for the most part.

Tojimi-san nodded and returned to his station next to Kenjo-san's office.

When he was gone, a sigh escaped the brunette's lips. She would have rathered never see Kenjo-san for the rest of her professional career. She and he didn't quite get along. Simply put, Shizuru couldn't stand the man's personality. His aura made her very uncomfortable.

Resigned, Shizuru strode past the array of desks that were neatly arranged in the large space of the work-place. The inside of her work-place very much resembled a police station, but it was far neater and more spacious. Shizuru was a security guard; her job was to keep an eye on captured human refugees and to make sure they never stepped out of line. In order to fulfill her duty, she is given supplements in pill form that increase her strength to that near an android's. Even without the supplement, the slender woman was strong for her frame and could hold her own in a fight, whether her opponent be robot or not.

Shizuru paused briefly before knocking on the door that opened up to her Kenjo-san's office. All traces of emotion were vacant from her near-perfect facial features.

"Who is it?" A deep voice rumbled through the wood.

"It is Fujino Shizuru, sir," Said woman replied.

"Please come in."

The ruby-eyed guard complied and entered the office. It was quite spacious, around thirty paces across and thirty paces vertical, and well furnished with a desk made from metal. On it was a name plate, a utensil canister, a flat-screen computer and keyboard, a phone, and a neat stack of papers in the center. There was a conference table in the middle of the room that was equipped with twenty chairs. Three cushioned chairs were stationed before Kenjo-san's desk and a leather couch stood off to side. The walls and ceiling were a standard white and the tile floor was replaced with a rough, deep-blue carpet that hardly provided any comfort and could be referred to as soft concrete. The wall behind the man was made of glass, for the most part, but it was covered by a dark-blue curtain.

The man, or rather, android behind the desk was exceptionally handsome with his slicked-back black hair, piercing silver eyes, smooth and chisled face, and powerful build. Thin spectacles rested on the bridge of his straight nose. He wore a black suit, but the jacket had been thrown haphazardly on the couch, leaving Kenjo-san in a white dress shirt and a black tie.

Kenjo-san gestured to the middle chair before him with his hand. "Please, sit."

Shizuru offered a small bow before she complied, gracefully seating herself and crossing her legs as she did so.

Her boss cleared his throat, signaling that he was preparing to speak, and folded his hands on his desk. "Now, Fujino-san, I am sure you are wondering why I have called for you." He caught her red eyes pointedly. "You see, I am in a bit of a dilemma. It seems I am in need of someone for a certain position, but it cannot be any regular old Joe off of the street. I need a..._special_ employee for this position," He pressed his fingertips together and rested his elbows on his desk, eyes glinting. "And _you_, my dear, are perfect."

Shizuru calmly regarded the man before her, showing no vague signs of curiosity or anticipation, which the android noted with a smirk. Instead, the brunette simply asked, "What position would you be speaking of, if I may ask?"

Cocky smirk still in place, Kenjo-san pushed himself onto his feet and walked around his desk. He circled the Shizuru as if he were a vulture studying its prey, but she did not find him fearsome, or even intimidating, for she knew -should he actually attack- the quickest, most effective way to dismantle the chip in his head. Granted, this knowledge was obtained by illegal hacking, as was much of her extensive knowledge of the android system and structure, but the brunette figured it may prove useful in the future.

Finally, the silver-eyed A.I. unit halted by Shizuru's side and rested a hand on her firm shoulder. "There is a certain sadistic side to humans that we androids cannot quite imitate, which is exactly what this position requires. You, my dear, seem to hold an intense hatred for your own kind. I care not why, to be honest. This makes what you are to be assigned to do so much easier," Kenjo-san removed his limb and returned to his seat. His sharp, silver eyes bored into her own black crimson. "Starting tomorrow, you will begin your new job information extractor from the captured refugees."

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A woman with blue hair and deep green eyes stood across from a topless man, her concentrated gaze searching for any offensive movements and weaknesses in his defence. The two had been sparring for the past twenty minutes and were preparing to end the match. The man had wanted to get some last minute training done before they went on their mission tomorrow and to be honest, so did the woman. It gave her a sense of reassurement.

Her breathing was hard and she could feel sweat trickling down her forehead and the sides of her face and down her back. From what she could tell, her opponent wasn't faring much better. With one more breath, the blunette sent a fist towards his face. Anticipating his block, she completed a spin-kick to his side, sucessfully wrenching her hand from his grasp. The black-haired man used his superior strength to block the attack, and then roughtly pushed her away from him. Knowing she would lose her balance, the cold-looking woman dropped to the floor and performed a sweep-kick that was avoided. Upon spotting the quick kick aimed for her head, the emerald-eyed woman ducked and rolled through his legs, stopped just behind the amber-eyed man. She braced herself with her hands and thrust her strong legs towards his lower back, sending the man stumbling.

Now on her feet, she faced him, only to be met with a fist in her face and a knee in her gut. Jade orbs shone brightly as their owner retaliated by grabbing around the attacker's neck and head-butting the poor fellow with a clang; she had a titanium cranium. His momentary dizziness gave her enough time to knock the taller man off of his feet, press a knee into his stomach, and aim a fist at his throat.

"Yield or I crush your throat, Reito." She growled, her emerald eyes hard.

Reito grinned and held his hands up. "I yield, _Natsuki_." He said her name in such a way that she couldn't help but smack him upside his head. He winced.

Natsuki rolled her eyes and pushed her body off of him, relieved their match was over. The red areas that Reito had struck throbbed, a few already leaving bruises, and she didn't want to get too banged up. The mission Natsuki was going on was almost guaranteed suicide, meaning her teammates and herself would end up being more than bruised and sore, if not dead. They were stepping foot onto the outside world. Although she had done this many-a-time, Natsuki was venturing into the city with a select few instead of simply waiting by the outskirts, which is what was normally done when capturing test-subjects for the robot-killing weapons that were still being developed, but this time her team wasn't gathering test-subjects. They were doing something entirely different.

They were stealing from the government.

The reason behind such a dangerous mission was because they -Otome-gem's inhabitants- were desperate. They needed to know the weaknesses of their enemies because while the guns scientists and engineers were developing would be helpful in defeating the A.I. units, Otome-gem's capable warriors were ridiculously outnumbered. Many had tried gathering the information from loyal androids, but the robots were proven useless since there was a command that did not allow the release of those important secrets. However, strong evidence suggested that there was the existence of a Central Control Chip that held the code for unlocking that command, and it so happened that very C.C.C. was held in a heavily guarded lab within the center of the city, along with several other materials that could be of use to Otome-gem.

The aformentioned guns were designed so a user could slide their arm inside of a round, impact-resistant tunnel and grasp the trigger. This prevented the gun from being easily forced from its owner and kept the shooting arm safer from harm. The material of the arm tunnel was made from a newly-discovered metal named Alunumtel Mellainian, or A.M. for short, that was impenetrable by almost everything used in weaponry nowadays. This metal was found almost one hundred feet below the refugee camp, but the temperatures were so high that only androids could get to it. Holes were built into the guns to reduce air-resistance and allow as much speed and movement as possible. The holes also made the weapons much lighter than they would had they been solid.

What made these special guns unique was the ammo that exited the barrel: a combination of electricity and acid that solidified into a lightning-like state. Since regular bullets were virtually incapable of "killing" the robots, alternatives to them needed to be created. So, scientists came up with ElectroAcid. If this deadly combo hit the head or chest area, instant death. At least, this is what the final product would be capable of. As of yet, the scientists in Otome-gem had yet to find a way to solidify the liquid as it shoots out of the barrel. It is hypothesized that this is caused by the lack of needed supplies. Gathering more materials is also part of Natsuki's team's mission.

Reito clapped his hand on Natsuki's shoulder to congratulate her on one-upping him once again when suddenly, he was flying through the air. His body hit the ground with a hard and loud "thump".

Natsuki smirked and straightened her posture arrogantly. "Never let your guard down." She said. That was the first rule of combat soldiers learned.

The topless man groaned in response, the breath having been knocked out of his lungs by the forceful throw.

Natsuki grinned and left the training room. Reito caught up soon after.

"That was mean." He teased, a charming smile on his face.

The blunette snorted and crossed her arms, emerald eyes rolling in a "whatever" manner. "You should'a seen it coming," She grumbled unapologetically.

As the two chatting friends strolled through the white hallways and past the large windows where one could look through and see scientists at work or others sparring/training, they attracted the attention of passerbyers and several scientists that looked up from his or her work. The reason for their stares was most likely Reito and Natsuki's shirtless torsos, (yes, Natsuki had a training bra on), and, in Natsuki's case, exposed calves and thighs.

They were natural beauties, so much to the point of being mistook for an android, which have artificially attractive features.

Reito had feathery, black, short hair and warm amber eyes that added to his charismatic aura. His face was void of baby fat and he had a strong, yet smooth jaw, giving the man a look of maturity. He was tall, standing at almost six feet with a build that suited his height. He had a six-pack, thick pecks, and bulging arm muscles that were cut in just the right areas. They looked as if they were sculpted by an artist obsessed with perfection. Reito also didn't have very much body hair, which appealed to many women and even a few men.

The one named Natsuki was absolutely stunning with her long, dark-blue hair with three-fourths of her bangs tucked behind her right ear and the rest behind her left ear. She had deep, almost haunted emerald orbs that could see right through anyone brave enough to look her in her eyes. Her face was smooth, clear and somewhat ovalish with high cheekbones and a faint indent in her cheeks. She had pink lips that weren't too thin, nor too full. Thin, long eyebrows sat over her eyes and were usually pulled into a frown, but there has yet to be a wrinkle in her smooth forehead. She has a well-defined, fit body that came from constant training and sparring/fighting: slim, toned legs, hard abs, a firm butt, and cut, muscled arms.

The difference in their beauties, other than what was physical, was that Reito was a warm, handsome man who was always seen smiling and was always friendly while Natsuki was a cold, dangerous woman; beautiful, yet deadly. She was referred to as the 'Ice Queen' of the refugees, or more commonly, the 'Lone Wolf'. It was a reputation she was proud of.

Despite her reputation, Natsuki did have several close friends.

"Hey, pup!"

Natsuki halted and looked up to the ceiling where she heard her name called, not at all surprised to see a lime-eyed red-head lounging in a red web-hammoc. She was one of the few loyal androids Natsuki had befriended.

The android jumped down from her perch, landing lightly for her weight. She _was_ made of titanium, after all.

An annoyed expression twisted the blunette's pretty features. "What?" Natsuki crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg.

The slim android had her usual sly smile etched into her face, a teasing glint twinking in her eyes. "Takeda-baka is looking for you." She said nonchalantly, scratching her chin as she said so.

Jade eyes rolled, uncaring. "And that's news? Tch," Natsuki sighed. "He's such a pansy, don'tcha think, Nao?"

Nao agreed whole-heartedly.

Reito was long-gone by now in search of another of Natsuki's friends, Tokiha Mai, leaving the red-head with Natsuki.

Nao shoved her hands into her pockets as she leaned against the wall, her eyes trained on Natsuki. "Where ya headed, pup?"

"Hungry," Was the one-word reply.

"Hmp," Nao grunted and looked away.

Natsuki eyed the lime-eyed android's outfit out of the corner of her left eye, then turned her head in the red-head's direction. "What up with the get up?" She was refering to the yellow scarf, the pink and white stripe design on the woman's t-shirt and the cargo pants that were held up by suspenders.

"Huh?" Nao blinked, then looked down at her clothes as if she had forgotten what she was wearing. "Oh." She shrugged. "Everything else's in the wash."

"Mm."

Natsuki started to walk to the cafeteria, and Nao followed. They were silent as they walked, and soon the chatter of many could be heard. The cafeteria resembled a school cafeteria with long and rectangular tables and plastic chairs to sit in. The room was large, the largest area in the underground building. It was even painted tan, unlike everywhere else.

Once Natsuki got her tray of food that consisted of steamed broccoli, a sandwich, pudding and water, she and Nao sat at the table closest to the cafeteria double-doors.

A little while into her meal, Natsuki heard Nao ask, "What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

The blunette paused in her chewing to think, brows furrowed and eyes off to the side. "Uhhh...'round five a.m., I think. The earlier, the better our chances of not getting caught, or killed." She stated around a mouthful of food.

The shorter, slimmer female grimaced in disgust. "Gees, quit eating like a mutt." She commented, earning a disapproving shout. "And put a shirt on," She added.

Natsuki glared at the red-head and growled, "Fuck-off, Red."

Nao held her hands up in the classic, "I'm backing off.", sign. "Alright, alright. I'm jus' sayin'..."

"Mm."

"Geez, don't bite my head off, mutt," Nao mumbled and crossed her arms, a pout on her lips.

"Nao..." Natsuki growled again in warning.

"..."

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Crimson eyes opened at the sound of knuckles tapping against the window of their owner's car. Shizuru turned her head towards the source of the noise and was met with a blue-uniformed human police officer that was peering through the window on the driver's side of the vehicle. Instantly, those red eyes were alert and hostile.

Shizuru rolled down the window, a fake smile on her face as she expertly gathered her composure into the mask of politeness she had perfected over the years. "Ara, is there a problem, Officer?" She asked in a friendly manner, feigning innocence.

The officer's moustache twitched in a smile. "Not particularly, no, but I do believe it is against the law to be sleeping in a parking lot." He commented airily, sounding more amused than anything else.

Shizuru let out a small laugh and stepped out of her shiny, dark-purple 2015 Porsche, not forgetting to turn it off and lock it. New cars hadn't been made since 2020, robotics having taken over the technological limelight ever since. "Oh, I was merely preparing myself for my new position. I would not like to disappoint my boss, after all." She explained in a light tone of voice, smile still in place.

"Yes, that is true," The officer mused. "Well, I will take my leave, then, ma'am. Have a nice day." He bowed and Shizuru reciprocated.

"You as well."

As soon as the man's back was towards her, the brunette's kind expression fell into one of disgust and hatred.

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**So, yeah. This is the first chapter. No anticipated confrontation as of yet, but that means you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Also, I have decided to leave a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter to keep things interesting. I'll also be trying to update once a week and to keep these chapters as long or longer than this one.**


	2. Fighting

**Like I said, I think, I will try to update weekly, but I will not be sticking to a specific date. It's so much less stressful and taxing on me. :) Y'know, I really like doing these author's notes. I don't know why, though...oh well.**

**I know why Shizuru hates her own kind, what the usb drive does -you'll never see it coming, but if you do before the time comes or I give hints...GET OUT OF MY MIND!- and how I want the story to end. XD Also, the reviews really do help with my motivation, so please, review if you'd like me to continue.**

**Now then, since there is nothing interesting to report...**

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_Is is me, or do all first days on the job suck? _Shizuru wondered to herself as she basically ignored everything the former torturer was saying; she had recieved all of the important information, such as how to get into the prisoners' minds, what forms of torture caused the most pain, and most importantly, how to keep herself emotionless and uncaring, save for allowing her sadistic and monstrous side to show. Striking fear into the refugees' hearts was a wonderful way to get the information you needed. _Was that what Kenjo-san said? _Shizuru shrugged and took a look around her.

She was in the torture chamber, otherwise known as the Blood Room. _What a fitting name..._Shizuru mused, her ruby orbs eyeing the stains on the gray brick walls. She looked at the cabinet -the large cabinet- that was placed against the right side of the small room. She figured it was the storage area for all of the small 'tools' she would be using sometime soon. A shiny object caught her scrutinizing eyes. _Ara, ara, is that where I will dangle my victims from? _What Shizuru was staring at was a metal chain that hung from the middle of the cieling, a pair of silver handcuffs welded to the chain to enable the prisoner to be suspended from his/her wrist, or even ankles, if desired. Off to the side was a mettalic, long, rectangular table-like device with shackles on each corner designed to force one's legs straight and one's arms over one's head. There were also three black straps that wrapped around the unfortunate soul's knees, hips and neck to allow much less movement had there been no straps. _My, oh my, the things I could do with this...What else is in here? Nothing? Perhaps everything else is in that cabinet..._ Shizuru padded towards the cabinet and stopped before it. Slowly, her hands reached for the handles, eyes gleaming in anticipation. She was not disappointed with what she witnessed...

Her head thumped against the brick as she stared at the dull gray cieling, arms crossed. _What a perfect color for such a dreary place. _"What, exactly, am I supposed to extract forcibly, Chiinu-san?"

Chiinu grinned and hopped onto the bed with straps on it, sitting Indian-style. "Not much, actually. All Kenjo-san wants is the location of Otome-gem and a rough estimation of the number of people in Otome-gem, so hopefully, you'll get some refugees with low pain tolerances." He joked, the happy-go-lucky look on his face not suiting him at all.

"Yeah," Shizuru said half-heartedly. "Low tolerance...nnngh..."

The black-eyed man laughed. "Aww, don't sound so down! You'll have plenty of time to use my -now yours- little toys! Patience is always the key, so they say."

"I suppose..." Shizuru muttered, wondering why she was being so friendly to Chiinu. "I've been meaning to ask you: why did you take this job in the first place?" Or why she was even talking voluntarily to him.

At that question, Chiinu's face darkened considerably. Shizuru almost regretted asking him. _Almost_. "I...I used to be a cruel, vengeful man. Got put in jail for several accounts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal weaponry...lost fifteen years of my life. While I was serving a life sentence, your boss, Kenjo-san, took a liking to my...personality, and the rest is history." The ex-con shrugged.

Shizuru was shocked by his past crimes. She didn't let it show, of course. That's just not how Fujino Shizuru works. "Ara, ara, that is quite the record, Chiinu-san," She commented idly.

"Tch, I know." His eyes rolled.

"Why are you quitting, then? You seem to really enjoy what you do." She raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I was wondering when that would come up!" A large grin appeared on his face. "My true love won't marry me if I don't quit. She doesn't approve of my job, 'parantly." His lips pulled back to reveal his white teeth.

Once again, Shizuru was surprised. "True love? That's why you're quitting?" She looked away. "There's no such thing." Red eyes bored into gray walls.

Chiinu sighed at her words._ The darkness of night covers her..._"Of course there's such thing as true love. Love is everywhere, and anywhere; you just have to know where to look." He said as he pushed his body off of the bed-like object.

Shizuru snorted and looked back at him. "I highly doubt that, Chiinu-san. Besides," She said offhandedly. "it's not like _love _can do anything. It's just a misinterpretted feeling of attraction and infatuation, or even lust. Love does not exist in this world." She said it with such finality, Chiinu almost wanted to believe her.

The man closed the distance between them and stood a mere foot away from the hardened woman. "That is not true, Shizuru-san. Love is not a feeling of lust or infatuation. No, it is a deep affection one harbors for another. It's that feeling that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, or sometimes completely nervous around someone. It fills your entire being so much, you realize you never knew true love as you thought you did." Chiinu closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose before opening them once more. "Love is what leads to treason, mutiny, murder, insanity, emotional pain, the splitting of nations and families, to death and betrayal: it's so strong. But it also leads to a sense of fulfillment and wholeness, to contentment, utter joy, exhileration, life and freedom! It's just so good, being truly in love." It was obvious Chiinu was getting into his speech, so Shizuru decided to just let him finish.

"There's just this one thing about true love..."

"Oh?" _Here it comes_, Shizuru thought.

"Hmm...people seem to find true love when and where they least expect it, and in someone they would ne'er give another thought." His brows were furrowed deeply in a heavy frown.

The brunette simply chuckled at him. "Ara, like in the enemy as you bring pain to ?" The venom in her gaze dared Chiinu to say "yes".

His eyes narrowed. "_Especially _in the enemy you cause harm."

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**...**

Be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be-beep! The shrill, annoying noise was silenced by a hand that snuck out of navy covers to hit the bedside table repeatedly until finally striking its target. A low, drawn-out groan followed as the hand slumped over the side of the bed. The time in bright red numbers on the clock showed four-thirty a.m., a time when hardly anyone was up. Apparantly, the occupant snuggled comfortably under the warm blankets agreed, seeing as the lump that was a body had yet to move. It was only five minutes later -after the alarm went off again and was shut off- when the person finally sat up slowly and yawned deeply, her long, messy blue hair framing her face and partially covering her face.

She shoved the covers off to the side and swung her legs over the side to rest on the floor as she stretched. Then, the blunette stood on the tiled floor and glanced around the area she called her room. Her bed was in the very middle, the head-board against a wall. On the left of the bed was a simple dresser that held all of her clothes. Her few pairs of shoes were placed next to the dresser, as was her training equipment, which consisted of boxing gloves, workout gloves, and hand-wraps. To the right of her bed was a small table that held an alarm clock and a few random knick-knacks she had collected over the years. There were also plenty of books by the table.

She gazed at her room, plain as it was, and felt nostalgic. She had grown to be attached to her room, since it was her private solace and it was where she spent alot of her time, and she knew it could very well be the last time she ever saw her room. Suddenly, she felt a cold sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was just then that the blunette realized she may never see her friends again.

_If you die...you'll be all alone again, Natsuki..._She clenched her jaw and threw her head to the side, her hair whipping in the process._ "Don't think such thoughts...it's bad for you mentality, pup," _Is what Nao had told her once. _Just keep that in mind Natsuki, _She told herself. _You're coming back today. You're coming back..._

_You're coming back..._

Natsuki walked around her group of refugee fighters, examining them closely. Like her, they wore baggy black and grey camouflage ACU pant bottoms that were tucked into shiny black combat boots, an old-style belt that held other necessities, such as several knives, back-up magazines, a walkie-talkie, a few bombs, a smoke screen, and so on. On the side of each thigh was a gun holster that held a Glock hand-gun. Each person wore a short-sleeved, tight black shirt with a black bullet-proof vest over it that was able to reflect any bullets that come in contact with the material. By their side was their weapon(s) of choice:

Natsuki herself had a pair of twin hand-guns. They were oddly shaped; the bullets were held in a blue sphere that was indented above the trigger, green in color. The guns were short in length, yet very powerful: the sheer force that launched the bullets out was enough to make them puncture diamond. Coupled with metal-disintegrating nano machines, Natsuki's pistols were the dealiest guns in Otome-gem.

Nao had a black robotic hand with long, red fingernails that were used to stab or shoot out acidic web onto her victim.

Miyu, another of Natsuki's android companions, had light sky-blue hair and pinkish-red eyes. Her body was riddled with guns and in one of her arms, she had a long, crystal-like saber, so in her case, she was her weapon of choice.

Chie, a human with dark-gray hair and brown-orange orbs, had a most unusual weapon; a blue rose. It wasn't like any other regular rose, of course! That would be plain ridiculous and stupid on her part! No, its petals were actually made of very thin and strong steel and was capable of piercing any type of resistance, be it metal, brick, a boulder, a robot, etc. Not to mention, the petals delivered a shock twice that of a taser gun, making it a nasty little bugger.

Reito held an M249 light machine gun in his grip. The design and such was rather old, but with a few adjustments, it proved to be quite effective against androids.

Takeda, a dark-skinned man with equally colored eyes and hair carried a pair of what seemed to be the fictional Kit Rae Exotath Sword and Sergay, a blond with amber eyes, carried a pair of what appeared to be the sword from G.I. Joe that belonged to Snake Eyes. Both blades were made of the same material Chie's rose petals were made of and were completely black.

A busty purple-eyed blonde with an air of authority and intimidation by the name of Haruka held a spiked ball and chain mace over her shoulder, her posture stiff.

The other member of the unit was Mai, a busty carrot-top with purple eyes. She had a circular disk with a large hole in the middle as to allow a her fingers to curl around it. There were three curved spikes spaced evenly on the outter ring; it was a wonder how she never sliced her hand open with it. Next to her was a young woman with black hair and braids framing her face and fierce, yet childish eyes. She wasn't were built, or tall, yet she was carrying a large, heavy-looking claymore in one hand. Almost _no_ _one_ in Otome-gem was able to even use it, let alone lift it more than three feet off the ground!

There were twenty other soldiers, but their weapons were simple machine guns.

_Sometimes I wonder why they're trying to make those arm guns, _Natsuki commented to herself, thinking of the weapons Otome-gem refugees already had.

She cleared her throat and began to speak: "Listen up!" All soldiers stood straightened their postures at once. "As you are all aware, in a few moments we will be entering a machine-ruled world. I know you have been to the surface before, but none of us have extended into a highly-populated area as we are about to do. By doing so, each and every one of us are risking our lives. There is more chance of dying than surviving on this vital mission; all of us might not return to our loved ones."

The leader, Natsuki, of the unit noticed the expressions of uneasiness and other similar emotions. "Some of us may be captured to be tortured for information. That is what we face in every trip to the surface. But do not be deterred by such facts! We are warriors of Otome-gem. We are the last of the free! Our spirit and pride cannot be broken by the terrors of pain and death! We will fight, not as refugees, but as free men and women!" She hit her palm with a fist. "We will show no fear! No pain! When they want pain, we'll give them pleasure. When they want fear, we'll give them courage. When they want weakness, we will show them strength! When they want death...we fight until our last breath! Who's with me?" Natsuki stuck her fist straight out in front of her.

Everyone mimicked her.

"Oo-rah!" They shouted.

Natsuki grinned and retracted her limb. "Good," She bent down and pulled on what appeared to be the jacket and helmet of a SWAT C.U. "Let's go."

A rank smell hit the rebels strongly and caused some peoples' eyes to water. The small, encased area around them was illuminated by a small bulb every twenty meters or so, and even then the light was dim. Murky soiled water flowed in the small canal next to the slab of concrete they were walking on. A few rats squeaked when their rest was disturbed by clumsy feet and pelted through the human legs or jumped onto rusted pipes. It was -unfortunately- the sewers Natsuki led her troops through to enter Hiroshima, Japan's largest city, undetected.

Hiroshima covered nearly one fifth of Japan and had around 15,000 of the 70, 600 population. That was more than most of the largest cities all around the world. During the war, Japan was the least demolished country, counting the larger ones like the U.S.A., Russia, Canada, China, Brazil, Australia and India. It was stated by the A.I. that, '"...Japan is our first and foremost home. We do not want it to become a wasteland as many of earth's countries have become..."'.

_That's bullshit, _Natsuki thought in remembrance to that statement. _Everyone knows that the opposing A.I. wanted Japan to be completely removed from Earth's geography, but since so many of us survived, they decided to simply use our large population as slaves. _She smirked behind the face shield attached to her helmet. _Too bad their war and slave-plan are going to backfire after tonight._

The blunette halted and held up a closed fist, signaling for her troops to stop moving. She had heard something unrelated to her unit's footsteps and the occasional rusting of clothing. Everyone's guards went up when the same clanking sound Natsuki had heard a small time ago not far from their location. All firearms and Elements (the unusual weapons Natsuki, Mai, Chie, Nao, Mikoto and Haruka possessed) were raised and prepared for whatever came their way. The tension in the air could be cut with a butter knife as the noise grew louder and nearer until, "It's just a rat with a can," Sounded from Nao, and all relaxed.

Natsuki breathed out heavily through her nose, eyes closed. "Let's keep moving, everyone," She said and continued down the sewer sidewalk.

For around ten minutes, it was a continuous treck through the dark tunnel. No one made an unnecessary sound, even by accident. This mission had no room for screw-ups, not when so much was at risk. Sure, everyone here was good at keeping secrets, but under the right circumstances, even a cold-hearted killer could break.

_And there are only a few of us capable of keeping our mouths shut, no matter the circumstances._

Natsuki shook her head, clearing her mind of any and all negative thoughts, any distractions. She had to be completely focused today. Completely-

"What?" She hissed as Nao unrelentingly prodded her side.

"How much longer until we're there? It's already _five-thirty,_ mutt. Night ain't gonna last much longer." She pointed out.

The emerald-eyed blunette sighed. "I know, but it'll be another fifteen minutes 'til we get there. The fuckin' facility is in the middle of the damn city!" She whispered sharply, trying to keep her voice down. It would be bad news if any A.I. units were to over-hear their conversation; their hearing was that good.

Nao groaned quietly and threw her head back, saying, "I should have backed out while I had the chance. I'm so bored!" She muttered, much to Natsuki's amusement.

"Too late for that, eh, Red?" Natsuki smirked and sped up several paces, almost giggling when a scarcely audible 'Fuck You' was sent in her direction.

She turned around fleetingly, a large grin plastered on her face. "No thanks."

Nao fumed and remained mute. Her eye began to twitch after Miyu patted her on the head.

Both women knew it was not a time to joke around, but their short-lived bout of humor helped to relieve the stress and pressure they were under. In one hand, everyone back at Otome-gem was counting on their success and in the other, their lives hung in the balance. One slip and everything could go tumbling into oblivion. Plus, if Natsuki's small battalion were to fail, the enemy androids would be much more prepared for another attack from the refugees. The only way Otome-gem had hope of getting that usb drive and destroying the A.I. forces was by the means of a surprise attack. As of now, the androids weren't expecting a group of rebel soldiers to suddenly attack a heavily-armed facility. If they were, they would predict the refugees to be unskilled fighters: an easy take-down. Little did they know that wouldn't be the case.

"We're here," Natsuki informed her brigade. She seemed to be staring at a random part of the sewer wall, but in reality, she was right in front of a door. Hell, none of the A.I.'s could see it!

Natsuki raised up a gloved had and began pressing various points on the wall in no apparant order. It looked as if the Commander was attempting to kill a bunch of ants. Suddenly, she pressed both of her palms, excluding her fingers, against the wall in a swift thrust. At first, nothing happened and Nao was going to utter something sarcastic when a door-shaped rectangle was tinted a bright green color, brightening the dark sewer. With a satisfied smile, Natsuki stepped through the wall where it was green. As if sensing the others' hesitance, she sent only her arm through the wall and made a motion with her hand to follow her.

Once her troop was through the wall, Natsuki sealed it up by placing a palm on the top of the opening. The place everyone looked to be in was an abandoned warehouse. Several old, dirty boxes, pieces of ruined furniture and rusted, crusty items dotted the floor. The walls were decayed and peeling, like everything else in the building. It didn't smell pleasant in the least, as well. The lights were either shorted out or cracked, like almost all of the grime-covered windows, leaving the area completely black. It was only because of the night-vision visors on the helmets that the soldiers were able to see.

_Not much of a view..._"Chiame! Niinume! Metori!" Natsuki barked. Two men and one woman straightened. "You three are to stay here and eliminate anyone and anything that is not in this uniform. Am I understood?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" They saluted her.

Natsuki nodded. "Good," She turned her attention to the others. "As for the rest of you, come with me and whatever you do," She narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Do _not_ hesitate to do what I say."

**...**

**...**

**...**

It was six a.m. when Shizuru arrived at her new work place, the torture chamber, known as Valkyrie H.I. She wasn't looking forward to an exciting day, since there were no prisoners in need of information extraction, or I.E. _This is what confuses me._ Shizuru looked at the large building she had worked at for six years since she was eighteen. She had never known there was a chamber fifty feet below the building and it was quite the shock to be told of it. Shizuru had learned that those who were to be given to her to get information out of had very limited pleasantries that consisted of a cot, blanket, toilet, meals and a weekly shower. Anything else was a no-go. _Although, I am curious as to why Kenjo-san wanted me specifically when there are others who are more qualified to do this._

Shizuru drove her car through the now-open gate and went to park in the nearby garage provided for staff. Minutes later she was entering the building and was making her way down into the basement where the dungeon-like chamber was when a strong security guard stopped her. He was an A.I.

"Pardon me, miss, but this facility is allowed only for the I.E. person and not any maids or nurses, whichever you be." His voice boomed in the still atmosphere and Shizuru nearly cringed.

She put on a polite smile and said, "Ara, ara, I _am_ the I.E. person, sir; today is my second day. You may check with Kenjo-san and he shall confirm it, if you wish?"

He was a-taken back. "_You_ are Fujino Shizuru?" He asked, incredulous. "Excuse my manners, but I most certainly did not expect such a beautiful and calm woman such as yourself to be the I.E. Why, there is not a mark to marr you skin, nor any physical deflections. Are you positive you are the I.E.?"

Shizuru smiled and showed him her I.D., proving she was who she said she was.

The android sputtered for a short time before regaining his composure. "Carry on, Fujino-san."

"Thank-you."

While Shizuru carried on, her mind reeled back to her confusion. _Surely Kenjo-san would not give me a promotion for a position that required me to only harm because I am not doing me job properly? That is blasphemy! Kenjo-san would never insult my honor and pride in such a way as implying that I am useless! For that is contrary to me, as I can do many-a-thing that would be helpful to others. I do hope that is not the case. My wrath is greater than my place in this new world of machinery and terror, or so it must be in the refugees' eyes, in those stupid, incorrigible humans' and confused androids' eyes. _A wry grin settled on the brunette's lips. _Quite the terror, indeed._

_**...**_

**_..._**

**_..._**

Natsuki could not believe how easy it was to get into the "heavily guarded" lab facility. All that the rebel unit had to do was kill around fifty fun-wielding guards and wait for Nao to decode the sliding metal door locks. The woman was an expert at doing so because she had constant practice in decoding doors to all kinds of government guarded buildings. Her reason for it was that she was easily bored. No one bought it, but as long as she didn't get caught-

"Got it."

The emerald-eyed Captain smirked in satisfaction. _This_ was the room she wanted; it held the usb drive that was the reason for the mission in the first place. The lab room was large, dark and was filled with tubes ranging in all kinds of sizes that held all kinds of things.

"Take what you want, I guess, but make sure you don't trip the alarm. Have an A.I. help you." Natsuki said and began searching for the usb drive. It wasn't long until she found it, but it looked nothing like she had imagined.

The so-called usb drive was a pink sphere with white splotches on it that almost glowed: it was so bright. There was an almost complete smoky black ring around it, many string-like extractions holding the sphere to the ring. The striking contrast made the drive seem both evil and good at the same time. It was about the size of Natsuki's palm and was much heavier than it looked, weighing in somewhere near fifty pounds.

_What the hell...?_

"Captain! We gotta go!" It was one of the soldiers Natsuki had left outside to guard the door. "The 'big guns' are coming!"

'Big guns' was a term that referred to those who were heavily armed.

Natsuki cursed and shoved the sphere into the bag she had brought. She noticed her troops readying their weapons and did the same. "Nao! Decode the other door in the back! Hurry!" Her voice was calm, but her eyes told a different story.

Nao ran to said door and frantically started to decode the lock.

The ground shook as many androids sped to the lab room. In their hands were heavy artillery machine guns and covering them were state of the art SWAT uniforms. Within nano-seconds, bullets rained all over the room, forcing the rebels to take cover behind experiments. Those with firearms would pop up quickly to deliver their own shots and drop back down again to reload or avoid gunfire. Those with Elements used their rifles for the time being. They would be used in a dire situation.

Several brave warriors darted from their hiding places and went hand-to-hand with some of the androids, effectively distracting them for a short time. It was then when Haruka took her spiked ball and chain mace and flung the ball at the enemy soldiers, downing them in seconds. Unfortunatly, back-up was on their way, giving the Otome-gem battalion very little time to rest.

"Nao! How much longer?" Natsuki shouted, wanting to get out of there and back to Otome-gem as soon as possible.

"GOT IT!" She cried, and true to her word the door opened, only to reveal more enemies just as back-up had arrived. The moment Nao saw them, she jumped away and landed by Natsuki, only just avoiding death. Once again, it was a war-zone.

"Cover me!" Natsuki yelled over the noise, barely hearing Nao respond, "Only if you cover me!"

Back to back, essentially, the two friends shot any enemy A.I. they saw. Both were thankful for the bulletproof vests and helmets they wore as they felt the small metals hit them. Like the first time, the battle was over quickly, and it was a wonder that the over-powering enemies didn't just use their superior forces and take them out.

Natsuki scanned the room to see how many of hers were left. Dread filled every inch of her when she realized almost half of her unit was dead and nearly everyone was injured. She wanted badly to help them, but there was no time. They had to make their escape while they could.

"Move out!" She commanded, waiting until everyone alive was out before her. The five others with elements stayed by her side as everyone ran with Miyu in the lead. She knew the fasted and safest route out of the lab and back to the warehouse, so it was only logical she'd be the one to get them back to the confines of Otome-gem. Also, if she saw any opposing forces, she cut them down in breakneck speed. Miyu was _not_ someone you wanted against you. That thought made Natsuki smile just a tiny bit.

When they reached the warehouse, they found it was swarmed with all kinds of police squads and SWAT and military units. There was even a helicopter hovering above the warehouse itself, as if to prevent an airreal attack. Upon the sight of this, Natsuki took a deep breath and yelled, "Otomes, go!" She gave those who had a limited supply of ammo permission to use their elements, just as she was preparing to do herself. There wasn't enough time for the initial,"Drop your weapons," order to be commanded before all hell broke loose.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Y'know, I said the confrontation between our two favorite characters would be in this chapter, but I had an idea that proved for an interesting third chapter, so sorry! XD Please don't pelt me with rocks; it hurts my feelings!**

**So, am I doing good so far? I hope so, otherwise, I'll have to go hide under a rock for the rest of my life and never write ShizNat ever again! Shane would kill you all for that, cause she's already read the other plans I have in store for ShizNat. So sad, the poor dear can't seem to ever finish any of her stories that aren't one shots. T-T...**

**To make up for the no Shiz/Nat meet, here's an omake!**

**Shizuru: I don't believe in love? What has the world come to?**

**Natsuki: I 'unno, 's kinda refreshing...**

**Shizuru: You take that back, Natsuki-ikezu!**

**Natsuki: What? I'm jus' sayin'...**

**Shane: Uh, Natsuki? -sweatdrop- What kind of flowers do you want at your funeral?**

**Natsuki: Huh?**

**Me: Perhaps tulips? Or maybe water lillies?**

**Shane: I was thinking more along the lines of either black or white roses.**

**Natsuki: What're you guys...talking...about...-sees scary Shizuru- Uh, Zuru?**

**Me: No, no, no, those are too common.**

**Shane: But they fit!**

**Me: Of course they fit, but they seem so...so...**

**Shane: Cliche?**

**Me: Yes!**

**Natsuki: Sh-Shizuru? Hun, why are you glaring at me? AND WHY DO YOU HAVE YOUR NINGINTA?**

**Shizuru: -demonic voice-All Shizurus believe in love. It's the natural order of humanity and for my WIFE to not believe that...it is cause for dire consequences.-does freaky pose-**

**Natsuki: -panicking- Sh-Shizuru, baby, love, not don't do anything drastic you'll just end up regretting later! -says while backing away-**

**Shizuru: Who say's I'll do anything regretful? -follows Natsuki-**

**Shane: How about turnips?**

**Natsuki/Shizuru/Me/Fans: ...What...?**

**Shane: -excited/hyper- Yeah! Turnips are the perfect flowers for Natsuki's funeral! :3**

**Natsuki/Shizuru/Me/Fans: WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?**

**Shane: -is blown away- Well, I say!**

**-End Omake-**

**Credit for omake and beta-ing go to xXBlackRoses-DeathXx, otherwise known as Shane.**

**Shane: Take credit where credit is due.**

**Yeah...**

**Chappie song!**

**Metallica (The Black Album)  
Lyrics:**

**_Don't tread on me.  
Said don't tread on me._**

**_Liberty or death_, _what we so proudly hail  
Once you provoke her, rattling of her tail  
Never begins it, never, but once engaged  
Never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage  
Said don't tread on me_**

**_So be it  
Threaten no more  
_To secure peace is to prepare for war  
_So be it  
Settle the score_  
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore**

**_Don't tread on me_**

**Love it or leave it, she with the deadly bite  
Quick is the blue tongue, forked as a lightning strike  
Shining with brightness, always on surveillance  
The eyes they never close, emblem of vigilance  
Ooh, no, no, no.**

**_Said don't tread on me_**

**_So be it  
Threaten no more  
_To secure peace is to prepare for war  
_So be it  
Settle the score_  
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore**

**_Don't tread on me_**

**_So be it  
Threaten no more_  
To secure peace is to prepare for war  
_Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail  
Once you provoke her, rattling of her tail_**

**_So be it  
Threaten no more  
_To secure peace is to prepare for war  
_So be it  
Settle the score_  
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore**

_**Don't tread on me**_


	3. Decisions and Capture

**Sooo yeah. The reviews are _definitly_ making me _very_ happy! Thank you all! I'm only hoping this chappie will get more since this is the actual confrontation! Woo!**

**Oh, and if anyone has a parent who is in the army and is not deployed, can you ask them what kind of safety glasses the army gave them? Or where the army got the safety glasses from?**

**Anyways, since I can't think of anything else, one with the chapter! Also, read the previous chapter cuz I made some important changes.**

**------**

It was a full blown war outside of the broken-down warehouse between the A.I. enemies and the refugees of Otome-gem. The guns used before had been discarded and replaced with hand-to-hand combat when the rebels had thrown themselves among the androids. There was yelling and screaming and the sound of flesh meeting flesh, fake or real. Bones were broken, people and machines were killed, and blood spattered everywhere. It was quite the gruesome scene.

Natsuki had a pocket knife out and used it to stab and rip at any unknown faces, human or not. From head to toe, she was stained with splotches of blood and oil, but she paid no heed to it; it would come off after a long, hot shower. Her face was twisted in a furious snarl, teeth bared as she tore into a robot from the police force, ripping his head clean off of his shoulders and getting soaked with red oil before turning to a female SWAT member and slitting her throat just under her helmet, spurting blood into the helmet and at the blunette.

She sent a roundhouse kick to the head of an android coming at her with enough strength to short-circuit him, virtually knocking him unconscious. A sharp pain to her thigh alerted Natsuki to a still-alive human police officer. The woman sent him a venomous glare and crushed his throat with her foot, instantly ending his life. She quickly bent down and ripped the long shard of broken glass out of her leg and stabbed a woman in the gut just in time to avoid a knife in her chest. The woman's black oil dribbled from her mouth momentarily. She fell to the ground, dead.

Emerald eyes seethed and their owner threw herself back into the battle, putting her training to good use. She found Mai fighting too many A.I.s off at once, so she stepped in and grabbed two of them by their helmets, giving Mai enough time to slice open their throats with her Element prior to ending the other three's lives by means of gutting. The orange-head sent Natsuki a grateful smile.

Natsuki nodded, then turned away; she couldn't stay still for long, or she would lose her own life.

Knife in hand, the captain began hacking away at her enemies, killing those whose back was towards her. She showed no mercy and cut down anything and anyone in her way, save for her own soldiers. She knew they were badly outnumbered with the odds being twenty against one, but thankfully, her unit was especially skilled in hand-to-hand combat, so all of the Otomes and a few of the others were still alive and fighting.

Spotting Haruka a little ways away, Natsuki took the time to watch her take down a bunch of enemy androids at one time with her mace, but her attention was quickly averted to several SWAT men heading towards her, each carrying a knife. She smirked and pulled out another of her pocket knives, readying herself for the five on one fight.

Two lunged at her, managing to knick her forearms. The other three took turns sending hard blows her way, a few striking true and leaving large bruises. They knew they could easily end her miserable existance, but where was the fun in that? Instead, the five A.I. men decided to toy with the woman, bang her up a bit until they grew bored and simply broke her neck.

However, it wasn't to be. Like a fluid wave, Natsuki -in the center of the circle-, forced her blades into the throats of the ones who cut her arms. They gurgled and dropped like a dead weight. She blocked almost all of the strikes from the remaining three, sustaining several hits. She knew she was angering the SWAT field agents, and she knew their anger would lead them to go into a brawl instead of using their honed skills and numbers to end her, and true to her thoughts, that is exactly what they did.

Natsuki grabbed the arm that flew past her head and drew the body to her. She took his head between her hands and jerked it to the side, breaking the android's neck. Immediatly after, she was pulled into a headlock, her helmet having been yanked off, and was held while the other man wailed on her stomach viciously, causing blood to be forced up and out of her mouth. The blunette was flung onto the ground and was kicked repeatedly by both soldiers, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

Suddenly, they stopped and Natsuki, thinking they were aiming a gun at her, steeled herself and opened her jade orbs to stare defiantly at her soon-to-be killers, only to find they were without their craniums. Eyes wide, she twisted her head to look behind her and found a bloodied Miyu standing over her, the stained purple saber replacing her arm. The android nodded her head and resumed fighting, leaving a relieved Natsuki to pull herself onto her feet and force her helmet back onto her head, despite her body's protests. She knew there would be bruises everywhere and that they would be sore to the touch. _Can't say I didn't expect as much._

She took a quick look around once more and to her horror, more police squads and even the military were showing up. Natsuki suddenly realized they weren't going to be able to get out of this jam. Her heart lurched at the reality she and her Otome-gem warriors faced. Almost thirty were sentenced to death the moment this mission was ratified, and for what? Nothing, because the usb drive wouldn't even make it back to Otome-gem. It would just be put back in the lab room and the security would be improved to higher standards than the rebels would be able to face, the efforts of the dead refugees wasted. It would be incorrect to state this wasn't one of the risks, but until now, it seemed as if the last free warriors would succeed and bring about the end of the A.I. (Not including the A.I. in Otome-gem.)

It was in that instance of realization that Natsuki came to a painful conclusion, and although her self-preservation instinct kicked in at the thought, Natsuki did what she had to do.

She pressed a small button on her helmet that connected her to her unit. Immediately, voices that were not her own entered her mind.

_Ah! Fuckin' Nazi A.I.!_

_Haha! That's right fucker, I got you!_

_Kyaaah! That was close!_

_I am sooooooo hungryyyyy! I'm gonna diiiieeee hungryyy! Waaaah!_

_Shit! I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes!_

_Natsuki! If I die, I only hope you will know of my feelings! This death is for you, my Natsuki-hime! Raaaah!_

_By my calculations, if I throw myself into that mob and slice their throats in one movement, I should be able to rid them in eighty-nine hundredths of a second. Here I go!_

Natsuki concentrated and shouted -in her mind-,"_Attention_!"

_Yes, boss?_ All living answered.

_I want all of you to prepare to run into the warehouse. You won't have much time. _Natsuki dodged a blade and counter-attacked with a sharp uppercut and a break of the neck._ You'll know when to run. Am I understood?_

_Ma'am, yes ma'am!_

_Good. Miyu, do you know how to open the secret door?_

_Yes._

_You must be the first leave. Do I make myself clear?_

_Ma'am, yes ma'am!_

_Good. Signing off._

Natsuki ended the mind chat, breathing heavily. The energy that took was unbelievable, which is why it is only used in emergencies or extreme conditions.

She was caught off-guard as a biting pain erupted from her upper-back. To her knees the blunette fell, and then her stomach. The triumphant laugh of her to-be executioner entered her ears. One would think Natsuki would still fight until it was impossible for her to fight anymore, but you see, it was all part of her plan. (Of course, it also helped that the man missed her vital organs.) Her "death" would give the woman enough time to prepare for what was soon to come.

Eyes closed, Natsuki breathed in deeply and exhaled sharply. In her head, she slowly repeated the mantra thrice, _"Fire. Ice. Become one and destroy,". _As she thought this, she imagined fire and ice fusing together to create herself. The blunette felt a tingly sensation over-take her body in an uncomfortable, yet soothing way. Her limbs burned with raw power and her blood boiled and froze in her veins. Natsuki's eyes shot open. _"Energize!"_ In a fluid, almost undetectable movement, Natsuki shot up from the ground.

Pure energy pulsed throughout her being, strength filling her to the core. Natsuki knew she could do anything right now, wanted to do whatever her heart yearned for, but focused on the task at hand. It took a great amount of self-control to regain command of herself, but she did and instantly, her mind was clear with only one goal in mind: _Save her unit._

But first..."NOW!" Her voice echoed for miles; the sheer strength and shock of it knocked many to the ground, but none of her troops.

The remaining Otome-gem warriors retreated, only a few sparing a glance at her. She sped after them, using the downed numbers and surprise to her advantage. However, the enemy came to their senses and were up in seconds, but to their dismay, almost all of the rebels were moments from escape. Immediately, they gave chase, showering the escaping refugees with bullets. The effort was futile, however, because Miyu had already opened the wall and almost all survivors were in it. All except for Natsuki, who knew she wasn't going to make it. Not with the soldiers only inches from her.

Heart pounding, Natsuki yelled, "GO!" She flung the usb drive at Miyu, who caught it, startled. Natsuki closed the door to the warehouse and pressed her back against it, a sword she always had with her in her hands. She swung and beheaded several, her enhanced strength managing to fend off the hundreds of opposers. _I'm almost out of time. _Natsuki thought in panic, killing more of the enemy.

_Natsuki-sama, what are you doing?! _Miyu's alarmed voice rang in her head.

_Ending our mission! _Natsuki growled._ Leave now while I can handle them!_

_But, Natsuki-sama-!_

_That's an order!_

_...Yes ma'am._

_GO!_

Finally, Natsuki's time ran out and she collapsed, unable to stand upright anymore. The awesome power she had just then was suddenly gone, and without it, her body would not function properly for nearly three day. It was the price she paid for activating her GEM, a device created in Otome-gem that could increase one's strength and intelligence ten-fold, before it was developed properly. The power surge could not end safetly just yet, therefore rendering whoever used it dangerously weakened.

She felt a gun press into her chest. Just as her life was about to end, a command rang out, "Do not kill her! She may be valuable!" just before the door was beat down, but there was no one inside. Everyone was safe.

**---**

In the tunnel, eight refugees bathed in stillness, eyes cast down. Four pairs were embracing for comfort; two soldiers by the names of Arika and Mashiro, Mai and Tate, Mikoto and Reito, and Miyu and Nao. They felt as if a hole of emptiness had been dug into their hearts and a great misfortune settled comfortably about. Most had wet faces and shaking shoulders as they mourned for their leader. Only one did no such thing: Miyu.

Miyu was incredibly emotionally-controlled. Even thought it was okay to let go, she found it difficult for mostly one reason: She had to be the leader now. At least, up until she led the small group back to Otome-gem and gave the usb drive to Youko to analyze and figure out.

Holding up the drive, Miyu narrowed her eyes at the pink orb. _This had better be worth yourself, Natsuki..._She inwardly warned before shoving the object into a pocket in her ACU jacket. At that point in time, Natsuki's voice suddenly entered the android's mind, despite the fact Miyu was not wearing her helmet. Being an A.I. did have its advantages, she mused.

She listened closley to the last words she may ever hear from Natsuki and promised to fulfill the blunette's last wishes.

**---**

_Back at Otome-gem..._

It was a sad day for those who lost a loved one in the vital mission into the lab. Only eight were alive, and one was unknown. That unknown was Kuga Natsuki, Commander of the unit. Her loss was taken the hardest, because while she tended to be a cold person, she was still a good one. She would give out help when needed, offer advice to the young ones, train the new generations of fighters, help provide music during special occasions, like weddings...the list goes on. Natsuki was well-respected and disiplined and had a high sense of honor and integrity. She was one of the bravest, intellectual, strong-willed and determined people one could ever meet. Her loss was a large one, indeed, and would be mourned by many, but not as heatedly as by her friends and family.

Miyu had her eyes shut tightly, willing herself not to shed her artificial tears of sadness. She had to be strong, not for herself, but for the sobbing red-headed woman in her arms: Nao, Natsuki's truest and closest friend. If Natsuki's unknown fate took the worst toll on anyone, it was Nao. The bond they shared was unique and tenacious; irreplacable. Their friendship, while playful, was one that had the potential to last a lifetime, a rarity in itself, especially with the way Earth was. Each was protective and caring of the other in their own true way and held the other person up when she was about to fall. They supported eachother through various difficulties and made up after spats, something many friends didn't do. Their relationship was envied by many, yet respected at the same time. Natsuki and Nao had personalities that could either make them enemies or friends. Thankfully, they became friends, but Miyu was positive they were enemies in a past life.

A sudden weight on her leg startled the cyan-haired android. She peered down and caught sight of blonde hair. It was Alyssa, Natsuki's youngest sister. Another weight, this time around her shoulders, was Nina, Natsuki's seventeen year-old sister. _If Alyssa and Nina are here, then..._Miyu looked around. To the left, near the door in the funeral room, was Natsuki's parents: Saeko and Sergay Kuga. She had grown very close to Natsuki and her family, almost to the point of being able to call them her own family.

Natsuki's parents, upon noticing Miyu, headed towards her. Saeko was silently crying and clutched onto her husband for support, who was being strong for his wife, although inside, he, too, wanted to let his tears flow. Instead, he bent down and scooped Alyssa into his arms, burying his face in her blonde hair.

There were no words spoken for a long while, but finally, Miyu broke the tense, depressed stillness. "Saeko?" Her voice was hoarse and strained.

"Yes, Miyu?" Saeko was not faring much better.

For a moment, Miyu hesitated. "Saeko...Natsuki left me a request before she..." The android didn't have to elaborate.

The distressed family turned their green and blue eyes on her, Nao included. "She...what?" Saeko's voice shook.

Miyu closed her eyes briefly. "Yes. She told me to tell her family and friends she loves them and that she is sorry she made the decision to allow herself to be captured. She told me..." Her voice shook. She cleared it. "She told me to tell you that somehow, someway, she would come back, no matter the circumstances, and that she won't allow herself to be broken by any means." Miyu turned her attention to Natsuki's melancholic parents,"Specifically to you two, she wanted to apologize for all the hard times she has caused the both of you. She said she's sorry and that she'll miss you, as well as her siblings and friends. She hopes she won't be gone long, but if she is, she wants you to not dwell on her. All of you will always be in her heart, wherever she is be damned, and you will always be loved by her." Miyu finished quietly, her hold on Nao tightening slightly. By now, most of the occupants of the room had quieted down to sniffles and loud breaths.

Saeko wiped her eyes, but the wetness was only replaced. "Do you think she's okay, Miyu?" Came her shaky, choppy inquiry.

"Yes. I don't believe anything bad is happening to your daughter."

"I hope she's not in any pain," Sergay muttered, pulling his wife into his body to give her comfort.

Miyu offered a grim smile. "I'm sure she's fine." Somewhere inside of her, however, was the unshakeable feeling that Natsuki was suffering heavily.

**---**

Blood dribbled from a bruised, swollen mouth and onto an already bloodied shirt. A face that had once been beautiful was now marred by bruises, blood, sweat and minor cuts here and there. One emerald eye was swollen shut and the nose was broken and the bottom lip was split. Blue hair framing attractive facial features was caked in blood and dirt and stuck to the person's forehead and cheeks, causing a slight discomfort that was easily ignorable as oposed to the hot pain already existing in her face. It was bearable, but it was felt.

"I'll ask you again," An angry, deep voice entered deaf ears. "Where is Otome-gem?"

She didn't answer, choosing only to glower coldly into the silver eyes of the A.I. unit that glowed in the darkened room.

He raised his fist and struck her. Hard. The chair she was tied to toppled to the floor with a loud 'clop'. Her head bounced against the concrete and she felt her shoulder dislocate, yet all that escaped her lips was a pained grunt. She was left on the floor for nearly half a minute, the pressure on her dislocated arm beginning to get to the blunette, before she was set upright once more.

She lifted her emerald eyes back to the man's gruesome features -he was most likely disfigured to strike fear into captives' hearts-, her jaw set tight to keep silent. Her gaze flicked to the aluminum bat in his hand and when they met his eyes, he was grinning coldly; murderously. Fear chilled her spine, but her eyes remained stoic and empty, much to his anger.

"How many of you are there?" She didn't answer. "Tell me, you insignificant mongrel, or I will beat you to death with this!" He raised the bat threateningly, expecting her to flinch. When he recieved no such movement, he brought the bat down, solidly connecting it with her now tender stomach.

The breath was knocked out of the captive and more blood spurted from her mouth in a cough, splattering onto the floor. She wheezed rapidly to regain oxygen, but it seemed the man didn't plan to let her breathe easily anytime soon. He beat her everywhere, from her legs, to her torso, to her arms and even her head. When she was nearly unconscious, he paused his vicious assault to ask her one thing: "Will you answer me now, you stupid fool?" She mustered the air and energy to frostily glare at him and mutter a 'no' through her teeth. A snarl on his face, he hit her again. Finally, she blacked out.

**---**

Shizuru was looking forward to her second day on the job. Kenjo-san had informed her that the day after she was situated in Valkyrie H.I., the chamber fifty feet underground HiME-rem, she would begin her new job immediately. Fifteen minutes earlier, Kenjo-san had called to tell her there was a new prisoner being sent to HiME-rem who was directly from Otome-gem. She was a Commander, in fact. Kenjo-san knew she had many secrets that could mean the end of the underground rebellion uprising and he desperately wanted to know this information. He instructed Shizuru to do anything and everything in her power to get the woman to talk and said nothing was out of the question. A sinister smile had spread across Shizuru's lips before she hung up.

_At HiME-rem..._

Instead of turning left as she normally did upon coming to the fork in the hallways, Shizuru took the right corridor and walked to the end, stopping before what appeared to be a janitor's closet. She stepped inside and locked the door. She was immersed with darkness since the light bulb was broken, but it wasn't needed.

Shizuru knocked once in the middle of the door, waited five seconds and knocked in the same spot. A blue square suddenly showed in the center of the door. She placed her palm against the square and watched as a green line moved from the top of her middle finger to the bottom of her palm, scanning it to be sure she wasn't an intruder. Just as she retracted her hand, the square flashed red and the ground below her desended into Valkyrie H.I. as if it were an elevator. When it reached its destination, the door flung open.

Crimson orbs were met with gray bricks and a gray cieling that formed a ten-foot wide passageway that led to a single room at the end of the dreary corridor. Once out of the elevator/closet, the door closed and traveled back to the surface to resume its duty as a camoflauged broom closet.

_How long am I going to have to wait down here? _Shizuru wondered from her place lying down on the platform that had straps attached to it, thinking back to Kenjo-san's orders to wait in the chamber until the prisoner was brought to her for questioning. Her head rested in her hands and one leg was bent, the knee pointed at the cieling. _Ara, ara, not very long, it seems, _Shizuru thought when the sound of the disguised elevator opening made its way to her ears. She turned her head to the door curious as to what the Commander of Otome-gem looked like.

Suddenly, the door was flung open and a slim, yet strong figure was thrown roughly onto the dirty floor by two beefy black-haired A.I. men. The one with golden eyes spoke, "Kenjo-san has ordered Shiame-san and myself as guards to prevent any attempted escapes or unwanted intrusions, Fujino-san."

She looked over them in amusement. "Is that so?" She giggled childishly and sat up. "Very well, then..." Her raised eyebrow called for a name.

"Itaitsuki."

"Very well, then, Itaitsuki-san. Shiame-san." They gave a short bow and made a move exit when Shizuru said, "Please tell me when it is twelve o'clock, good sirs."

They bowed once more. "As you wish, Fujino-san."

The door closed.

Shizuru hopped off of the platform and stood several feet from the woman's head. She watched as the captive pushed herself off of the floor with one arm, the other hanging uselessly by her side. Now on her knees, a hand was lifted to her face and a sharp crunch was heart. Crimson eyes widened. _Her nose was broken? _A louder crack was heard as the blunette popped her shoulder back into its socket, a small grunt escaping her mouth. _Her shoulder, as well? _She blinked.

"Uuugh...where am I?" A low voice sounded.

Quickly, Shizuru realized the prisoner had no idea she was in the same room as the brunette. An amused grin played on her lips and she silently crept towards her while she was wiping her face with her shirt, stopping a mere foot away from her. She said nothing until the shirt dropped and those shapely shoulders stiffened at the sight of her shiny boots. "Ara, ara, now who do we have here?" She chirped playfully.

It was then when malevolent crimson met glacial emerald.

**---**

**Finally, the confrontation! Sure, it's small, but it's going to be quite a large portion of the following chapters. I bet you guys are wondering how the romance is gonna play out, huh? So am I! But I have ten chappies til ShizNat is even thought of, so that's good. Btw, I am now striving for an update on a one every two weeks basis, since that's how it's been going, I think. Mind me you, I do have a life and a wonderful girlfriend, so I can't really spend all of my time on this. -_- REVIEW REVIEW**

**Omake!!!!! -In the background equals italic.-**

**Ume-sama- Yay! They meet! They meet! They meet! -singsong- ^_^**

**Me-:-l...Ooookay...**

**Midori-Sensei- Na-nana-na, na-nana-na, hey-ey-ey, good-bye! Remember the HiMEs!**

**Meow- Meowth! That's right!**

**Me- ...Seriously, Shane?**

**Shane-What?**

**Ume-sama- Well, you did say she was hanging around Pokemon fans. -nods head-**

**Midori-Sensei- Pokemon is AWESOME!**

**Ume-sama- -shakes head- Surrounded by retards...**

**Shane- OI! I take offense to that!**

**-All eyes roll-**

**Me- Ume?**

**Ume-sama- What?**

**Me- Why is there a cat on your shoulder?**

**Ume-sama- Hmmm? -eyes cat- IT'S TRYING TO STEAL MY PLUMS! -crouches over plums protectively with cat still on shoulder-**

**Midori-Sensei- IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE, I WILL SAVE YOUR PLUMS! -proceeds to save plums-**

**Ume-sama- O.O" RELEASE MY PLUMS, YOU INSANE FOREVER 17 YEAR OLD!**

**Shane- ¿Blake?**

**Me- ¿Qué?**

**Shane- ¿No le dije no darles el azúcar? **

**_Ume-sama- GIMME MY PLUMS!_**

**Me- ¡Sí, pero ellos realmente quisieron el chocolate!**

**_Cat- Holy mother of God, help me! I just wanted one plum! Just one delicious, juicy...purple...plump......plum....GAH!_**

**Shane- ...¡ESTO NO IMPORTA! ¡AHORA ELLOS TRATAN DE MATAR AL GATO Y EL UNO AL OTRO Y REALMENTE AMO A GATOS! ¡GAH!**

**_Midori-Sensei- STOP IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE! UME, ALLOW ME TO ASSIST YOU!_**

**_Ume-sama- NEEEVVVEEEEERRRRRRRR! My plums! MINE!_**

**_Cat- Leave me alone, damn you!_**

**_Ume-sama- -drops plums- NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! -really loud-_**

**Me/Shane- -turns to insane people-¡¿AH DIOS MÍO, USTED TIPOS CERRARÁS Y CALMA JODER ABAJO?!**

**Audience who can't speak Spanish- What?**

**Me- Oh! Shane was just telling me I wasn't supposed to give Ume and Midori sugar, but I told her they really wanted chocolate, then she said something about important death and loving cats and then we told the insane people to shut the hell up.**

**Shane- No, I said it wasn't important that they wanted chocolate and that they were trying to kill each other and the cat and I really love cats.**

**Me- Oh. -blinks-**

**Ume/Midori/Cat- -turns to each other- Chocolate? -runs to chocolate factory, ties up Willy Wonka and eats sugary goodness-**

**-World blows up-**

**Shane ghost- You see what you do? -_-"**

**Me ghost- Ehehehehe...Sorry...-embarrassed grin-**

**Ume/Midori- CHOCOLATE? CHOCOLATE! CHOOOOCOLAAATE! CHOOOOOOOOCOLAAAAAAAAAATE! -Spongebob and Patrick run away-**

**END!**

**Chappie song:**

**The Agonist- Thank-You, Pain.**

**_So, lowly criminal,_  
Please tell me, how do you plead?  
Now, honorable judges, ladies, gentlemen of the jury, please allow me to present my case...  
Ha! What case can you possibly present  
_To rip a man from his family, faith, and friends?_ Defense?**

**Listen before you convict, you see****_, I never did intend to ruin anything!  
Intent is a guilty conscience's white flag_ against pride,  
So I find you _guilty of the crimes._  
I know, although i don't believe  
It's not only my afterlife I bereave.  
Appeals will be denied!****_Through senses, what can we explain?  
Not joy, not guilt, not pain._  
Is love the same?  
_This senseless argument in vain erodes my sense of shame._  
_Who's to blame?_  
Thank you, _Pain_!_ (_for****_ crippling my body)  
_God bless _Suffering_!  
Thank you , _Pain_! (for freeing my brain)  
_For preventing me from returning to the source again._****_Through senses, what can we explain?  
Not joy, not fear, not pain._  
Is love the same?  
_This reckless argument in vain erodes my sense of shame_.  
_Who's to blame? _**

**The line of duty calls for enforcement of laws, so you're our property now.  
_Intelligence has failed you somehow._**

_**Oh, what a shame you play this game!**_

**So it shall be!  
_Now do you see the error of your ways?_  
Of Rats and Men you speak, standing up tall but you are weak.  
_A smiling thief._**

**_We are all murderers, you see_,  
_But you let taboo human chemistry blind your needs._  
Live is greed!  
_Logic won't concede._  
Think about the statistics you feed.  
Think before you plead.**

**Italic is what's related to the story. **

**REVIEW REVIEW**


	4. Torture Chamber

**I am sorry for the tardiness! It took me awile to get what I wanted typed (I change my mind alot -.-) and I had a shitload of homework. Damn teachers are under the impression that I like wasting my time on their assignments...I swear, it is only the highschool teachers! I bet they plot in the teacher's lounge on how to waste their students' lives with education! That would explain so damn much! X( -sigh- It's mostly my history teacher, though...Also, I do have a job, so these things combined tend to leave you with little time, especially when you have a girlfriend.**

**Selene- ¿Mi amor, por qué malgasta usted todos tiempo con su vagando?**

**Me- ¡Ellos son quién quiere leer mis pensamientos!**

**Selene- ¡Aaaah...mi amor, tu es una idiota!**

**Me- ¿Pero por qué? ¡Tu es malo!**

**Selene- ¡La cara es una expresión mona otra vez!**

**Me- Gah! ¡Tu es loco!**

**...**

**...**

**...**

Shizuru smiled chillingly at her blue-haired captive, an undeciferable glint in her crimson orbs. She met the arctic glare of the woman on the floor easily, conquering it with her own. _This child won't last very long in torture, _she thought as she gazed away from the averted emeralds, instead taking in her concealed womanly figure. A brief analysis -Shizuru was skilled in this area- suggested her age was around twenty and twenty-five and confirmed an extensive knowledge in hand-to-hand combat, as well as a constant use of hand-held weapons; the bruises on her knuckles and foreams and the light calluses on her knuckles and palms showed this. Shizuru also gathered the blunette horded a considerable amound of strength, stamina and endurance in herself, since she looked as if she was beaten for hours, nonstop. She was covered in bruises of all shapes and sizes, as well as cuts that still bled, but only a little. Hopefully, the girl was in enough pain where she will simply tell Shizuru what she wants to know.

_But where would the fun in that be? _She circled the blunette once before she ordered a gruff, "Stand up, prisoner."

When her command was not heeded, Shizuru swooped down like a hawk and took the prisoner by her long hair, eliciting a short cry, and dragged her up until she was eye-level. She stared at a totaled face uncaringly, silent until an eye opened, if only slightly. "When I tell you to do something, you do it. Understand, worthless filth?" Spit in the face was her answer.

_My, my, my...such insolence. _Shizuru smiled distortedly and wiped the saliva off of her cheek. "Ara, ara, you must be a glutton for punishment, my cute prisoner." _At least, she would be if her face wasn't so badly beaten._ At the grimace on her face, Shizuru knew she found a perfect place to prod laughed and pulled her along to the middle of the room, recieving almost no resistance. The girl was most likely too exhausted to fight against her. "You are such a weak little thing, aren't you, my cute prisoner?" She asked while she cuffed the blunette's wrists above her head to the chain hanging from the cieling. A glare was her answer. "I can't wait to break your spirit, little one." The glare grew in intensity.

She strode to the cabinet and surveyed the inside, searching for one thing only. She reached inside when she found it and returned to her place in front of the captive, leaving the cabinet open in the hopes of instilling intimidation, if not fear. The brunette noticed the way she cringed at the tools inside and grinned sadistically. _I get to use every single one, too. _

She moved closer until only an inch separated their noses.

"Let's get started, hm? Where is Otome-gem located?"

"You really wanna know?" An infuriating smirk crawled its way onto the blunette's lips. "It's hidden, but I guess you already know that."

Shizuru blinked in surprise, then repressed her emotions with a snarl. _Insufferable wench! _

"You want to play dirty? I'll play dirty, Kuga Natsuki." Shizuru growled, her eyes narrowed.

Forest greens widened. "How you know my name?"

A smirk. "I have my resourses, _Na-tsu-ki_." _Another button?_

Natsuki hissed.

_Bingo_.

"Fuck you, bitch."

**Smack.**

Natsuki's head was forced to the side, a bright red hand print glowing on her blotched skin. The hand that inflicted the sting brought her face frontward to stare into boiling rubies.

"No more games, you mangy dog. From now on, you either answer my questions with no sarcasm, or you face the consequences." Seeing the exasperation in defiant jade, Shizuru added, "I promise you, the pain you felt before in your previous questioning will be much, _much _worse." There was a fleeting flicker of fear. Shizuru smiled happily. "I'll give you one more chance. Where, exactly, is the location of Otome-gem? Last chance." Yet both of them knew Natsuki would not give up her secrets easily.

"Have fun, cruel viper."

Shizuru hmped and crouched down to shackle Natsuki's ankles, preventing her from attempting to attack her during the torture session. She stood up and pulled out a knife from her pocket, placing it threateningly against the rebel's jaw and forcing the blunette to tilt her head upwards, as if to move away from the pointed, sharpened steel. "Ara, I'm afraid I'm going to have to remove your shirt, Natsuki. We can't have anything to block this little toy," She held up a bladed whip for Natsuki to see. "from tearing into your flesh, now can we?" Insert disturbed chuckle.

Deep emeralds shone brightly against marred skin as they watched the amusement play about in the sea of crimson fire. Natsuki felt the cool blade against her skin as it sliced open her shirt from her clavicle to the hem. The motion was repeated on her sleeves, allowing the shirt to simply be pulled off of her torso and discarded carelessly onto the cement floor, leaving the blunette's upper body in only a fancy black lace bra.

A flicker of surprise showed in Shizuru's eyes. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Ara, ara, what good taste in lingerie, my cute prisoner."

That annoying glint of mischief Natsuki didn't like was back in the brunette's eyes.

Without losing eye contact, Shizuru slowly and gently ran her palms up the refugee's sides, feeling the hard figure under her skin, and moved a breath away from Natsuki as her hands trailed over her breasts to rest just below her neck, delighting in the faint flush the woman's cheeks emanated. She could feel goosebumps rising on her torturee's skin, but whether it was from the cold, her touch, or both, she couldn't be sure. She leaned in, like she was going to kiss the rebel, then suddenly dug her nails into the soft skin. Natsuki yelped and jumped in surprise.

"I am sorely tempted to simply leave you be, -it would be a shame to waste," Shizuru had smirked here. "-such a beautiful woman- but I cannot. Nor can I go easy on you, as you are my very first victim. You see," Shizuru moved away and stared into Natsuki's eyes, disgruntling the young rebel with the haunt and distance from reality in them. "you have caught me during my most troubling times. I am afraid I am not in my correct state of mind, but that is why I am before you, preparing to tear you apart with no qualms: I am not quite sane at the moment." Another chilling smirk charmed her face. "Of course, no one knows this, and no one will, except for you, my cute prisoner. This will stay a secret between you and I until the day one of us dies." And by "one of us", she meant Natsuki.

Natsuki felt her heart start to pound as the edged whip was raised. Her eyes closed and her body tensed, fully expecting to feel a searing pain on her stomach. When her expectations were not met for several seconds, the blunette cracked an eye open, her muscles involuntarily relaxing a bit. Suddenly, white pain erupted across abdomen. Natsuki grit her teeth, barely suppressing her startled yelp. The thin red line left by the bladed leather stung fiercly, but she could take it easily.

She bit back tears and snarled at Shizuru, who was beginning to be swept up in her sadistic side, in her inner monster.

"Thrice a week, you will come before me for six hours." A harder slash added another red line to her torso, forming an 'x' with the previous cut. "Expect one full hour of that time to be tributed to this whip in my hand." The long piece of leather wrapped around Natsuki's arm before it was viciously yanked off, leaving deep gashes in its wake. This time, she could not hold back her cry of pain, nor the tears that trickled from the corners of her clenched eyelids. Thankfully, Shizuru didn't notice them. "Think of these hours as your very own personal Hell." These were Shizuru's final words that day, Natsuki could tell. Her voice had become too demonized to be playful as before. She was finally serious in her job.

An agonized scream rang through the prison.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Miyu sat up with a start. Her limbs were shaking ever so slightly. She felt so cold. After a few calming breaths, she laid back down and stared dazedly at the cieling. She had just experienced an android's version of a nightmare. While such a thing normally would not affect her, it was the fact that an android's nightmare was really just a horrible, true vision. _And this is why so many murders and crimes were prevented after andoids came into use._

However, the definition that applied to humans was not the same definition applied to androids for the word "vision". To humans, a vision is a look into the future for things to come. To androids, a vision is a brain wave that overly-stressed and terrified brains give off. The only major downside to this is that the brain waves only make it to the androids that particular human cares for the most._ But why hasn't Nao woken up? _

(The mission had ended only several hours ago, and everyone was exhausted. Natsuki's capture sucked out the energy from her surviving soldiers and family, so rest was in order.)

She spoke too soon.

Nao cried out and suddenly flung her body to the side of the bed, denting the wall heavily. The loud crash no doubt attracted much attention.

In a flash, Miyu was beside the red-head, cradling her in her arms. As Nao sobbed into the light blue-haired woman's chest, Miyu whispered whatever comforting words she could think of, herself having been greatly disturbed by the vision.

_A very familiar blunette was hung from the cieling by her wrists with handcuffs, which were attached to a thick, rusted chain. She looked to be held in some sort of medieval dungeon (in certainly looked like one). Gray bricks surrounded her, a bed with straps, and an open cabinet filled with all kinds of devious tools. The walls and floors -even the cieling!- looked to be stained with blood, if the dark spots clued anything. All-in-all, it was deffinitely NOT a welcoming sight. And neither was the only person in that chamber._

_Dressed in only pants and a bra, the woman hung from the chain limply, almost lifelessly. She looked as if she had been beaten, killed, brought back to life, and then beaten again! The pants she wore were torn ragged and her bra was very near shreds, only just covering the major parts of her breasts. Her skin was one big, black and blue bruise, and whatever was untouched was a sickly yellow color. A thick, red substance oozed from the many tears, both jagged and clean, in her skin. The once silky blue tresses were matted with grime and blood, as well as sweat. It hung clumpily over her dropped head, covering her face._

_Out of nowhere, a crack sounded. The woman's skin was ripped apart once more on her side, forcing blood and a strangled scream out of her throat. Her head had been thrown up to release the sound, and it was then when Miyu recognized who it was._

_Natsuki..._

A shudder traveled down her spine. She forced the memory into the dark recesses of her mind for the time being. It wouldn't do her any good to think of the gruesome vision at the moment. It most _certainly _wouldn't help her, or Nao, for that matter.

"Hush, Nao," Miyu murmured into her ear. "Calm yourself. You must remember that Natsuki is possibly the strongest woman alive, and she is alive, Nao."

Nao sputtered through her tears, "B-but I _saw _her, Miyu!" Green eyes found her own. "I saw her in that dungeon Hell! I saw her bloodied and near-death." More water welled in those shaky lime orbs. "I saw her being tortured..." She muttered in a disturbed whisper. "I saw her being tortured..." Her body shuddered.

Miyu held her tighter, resting her cheek against the side of Nao's head.

Several moments later, the door to the room slammed open, revealing armed men and women. Even if Otome-gem was undetected, anything suspicious was delt with before questions were asked. The loud crash caused by Nao's body striking the wall when not in any of the training rooms was way out of the oridinary, and no one dared to take a chance, especially with the capture of Kuga Natsuki. At the sight of Nao in Miyu's arms, however, the weapons lowered and everyone relaxed to an extent.

Mai, one of Natsuki's closest friends, pushed through the crowd of rebels into the room. She hastened over to the two androids, worry and concern evident in her violet orbs.

"What happened, Miyu?" She asked, falling to her knees. Her eyes flickered to Nao. "Is Nao okay?"

Suddenly, Nao cried, "I just had a nightmare!" Everyone's -other than Miyu's- eyes widened. "Natsuki is being tortured! I-I think she almost died."

Dread and shock filled the small room, suffocating Miyu.

Seven people -Nao, Miyu, Mai, Saeko, Sergay, Chie and the leader of Otome-gem- were seated in a small room made of white walls. They sat around a circular table, some fiddling nervously and the rest staring blankly at the table.

Saeko suddenly stood up, her chair falling back with a crash. Her emerald orbs blazed at Nao demandingly. "Well?" She snarled. "Are you going to tell me how she is?"

Nao flinched subtly, and Miyu hated Saeko at that moment. "I already told you what I saw," She stated quietly. "There is nothing more."

"LIAR!" Her fist banged on the metallic table.

Sergay stood up and rested his hand on his wife's shoulder. He silently calmed her with his eyes. After a searching gaze, Saeko's shoulders drooped and her head sagged, eyes downcast. She sat back down in the chair her husband set upright from the floor. The atmoshere was tense.

Sergay turned his attention to the leader of Otome-gem. "Is there something you can do to save Natsuki, Nagi-san?" He asked.

All attention was directed at Nagi. For a long moment, he was silent: pondering. His face remained neutral, his posture poised, giving away no hints as to what he was thinking.

Finally, he said, "Perhaps...it would be very difficult, the mission considerably impossible, but I believe there is the slightest chance of saving Natsuki-san." He nodded his head, white hair falling into his boyish, yet grown face. His light-red eyes were narrowed in thought. "First, we would have to send skilled agents to gather as much information that is possible. They would have to be human, since androids keep everything stored in their memory cards, and they would need to be skilled liars. Not to mention," Nagi's voice grew dark. "they shan't be fearful of death. The only option other than capture is death, and in this case, the only choice would be death."

A shocked, disbelieving silence ensued.

"Wh-What?" Saeko choked once the shock subsided. "Nagi-san, you can't be serious-"

"It would be the only way to ensure the security of Otome-gem," Chie interjected solemnly. "Natsuki can, no doubt, withstand any torture if in means keeping all of us safe; that's just how she is. The mission to save your daughter is essentially a suicide mission, because no one else probably holds the lives of others in as near high regard as Natsuki does to go as far as the torture she is going through. That is why they must be prepared to be able to end their own lives should they be captured."

Saeko looked stricked and torn. Her jade eyes were wide in a flurry of emotions and her skin was paler than usual. She seemed dazed. How could she throw away even more lives for just one, even if it was her daughter? She was not in a time where selfishness was without major consequence. She was in a time where one had to fight for one's own survival, no matter what. Caution was needed in whatever was done for the sake of survival, an lives were not to be taken lighting nowadays. They had to be treasured and put in high regard, since androids over-populated humans with a ratio of ten to about three. No life was to be taken lightly.

"Then...there's no other option that isn't so...threatening?" Saeko asked, her voice cracking.

Nagi shook his head. "We can only hope she lasts until we uncover that drive's secrets and reclaim our world once more. Sadly, there's not much chance of that, if her sessions are as brutal as Nao and Miyu claim."

No one spoke for what seemed to be an eternity.

"It's all up to fate, now." Chie muttered as she exited the stillness of the room.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Natsuki glowered at the woman in the white doctor's coat as she sprayed her wounds with a stinging disinfectant. She was dressed in only a new pair of panties and a simple black bra, since their were wounds just about everywhere on her body. Not long ago, the two men guarding the "Hell Hole", as she called it, had thrown her into the prison's infirmary to be cleaned and dressed in the common orange jumpsuit and white shirt that clothed the other prisoners in Hime-rem. She was more than glad to get the hell away from that demon who inflicted over two-thirds of her wounds. _She's as beautiful as she is deadly._

Nearly half an hour later, Natsuki was brought to her cell -fully clothed- and was told her schedule. At seven a.m., she would be brought breakfast. At twelve, she would be brought lunch. At six p.m, she would be brough dinner. She was given no priveleges pertaining to leaving her cell, save for her showers, which she would get only after she went to see her personal demon whose last name, she learned, was Fujino.

"Brilliant," Natsuki grumbled to herself.

"Aw, it's not so bad being confined to one cell for the rest of your life." A voice stated from behind her.

Natsuki spun around, her body forced in a defensive stance. Her vision was filled with a teal-haired, gray-eyed woman who had a weird haircut where one side was longer than the other. She had fair skin and a pretty face that was currently pulled into a smirk. She was leaning against the bunk, the top half of her jumpsuit zipped open and tied around her waist; those things get hot.

Sensing no threat, Natsuki relaxed and stood up straight. "Who're you?"

The woman smiled. "Marguerite Tomoe. You?"

"Kuga."

Tomoe raised a brow. "No first name?"

Emeralds narrowed. "You don't need to know my first name." She said.

"Fine, fine," Tomoe shrugged. "You going to at least tell me why you're in the torture block?"

Natsuki's eyes widened in confusion. "Torture block?" She echoed.

"Y'know, the block where human threats to the A.I. bastards are put to be questioned and shit?"

"Oh," Natsuki muttered. "I'm an Otome, then."

Tomoe looked at her oddly. "A who-a-what-a?"

"An Otome." Natsuki repeated.

"What's an Otome?" Her cell mate asked.

Natsuki sighed and began to explain: "An Otome is a warrior from the underground refugee camp known as Otome-gem. I have a bunch of information the A.I. need to locate and destroy Otome-gem, thus the reason I'm being tortured."

"Ohhhh."

"What about you?" Natsuki asked.

Tomoe shrugged. "Oh, I'm just a simple terrorist who happens to know where every hidden human resistance camp is located," Seeing Natsuki's paniced look, she added, "Save for Otome-gem."

Visibly relieved, Natsuki's shoulders slumped. "Geez, y'really had me going, Marguerite." Suddenly, she perked up. "Every human resistance, you say?" Tomoe nodded, confused. "If I ever get rescued, you're are so coming with me. Nagi would _deffinitly_ find a use for you."

The teal-haired terrorist rolled her eyes. "I feel so very honored," She said sarcasticly.

Natsuki gave her the evil eye, and Tomoe averted her gaze. Triumphantly, Natsuki limped closer to the bunk-bed, feeling weary all of a sudden. "Which is mine?"

"Bottom."

"Mm." The blunette let herself fall onto the cot, ignoring the white pain of her battered body as it roughly met the mattress. _Oh my God, I'm so damn tired. _Sleep came to her easily.

Shizuru thought back to when Natsuki was hauled out of the chamber to be washed and sterilized to prevent unwanted infection and death. After all, Kenjo-san wanted information from her. Once his goal was reached, he had told Shizuru, the girl's fate was in her hands. If she didn't talk over the course of six months, she was to be stoned to near-death with burning spheres of tightly compressed barbed wire. Her barely-alive body would then be fed to starved animals. Whatever was left would be left to rot in a desert.

The brunette shivered at the prospect of such a death. _I do hope that nitwit gives within the months._

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips at the girl's stubbornness. It was only the first session, but Shizuru knew it would be difficult to get the girl to talk. Her loyalty to Otome-gem's inhabitants was quite troublesome. It must be broken, otherwise, Natsuki would never tell of Otome-gem's location, the number of refugees, or what they were planning. And _that _was NOT acceptable at all.

"Oh, Natsuki. I will make you tell me," Shizuru chuckled darkly. The light in the torture chamber began to fade. "One way, or another." Even as it became pitch black, her crimson eyes glowed strongly in the darkness until they, too, faded.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Sorry the chapter is kinda short. I didn't want to put too much info in one chapter or rush it. Plus, it seemed like a really good chappie ending. That is simply me, of course, but whatev's. **

**Thanks, Shane, for doing the torture scenes for me. Yours was much better than what I had in mind. Gore/Violence/Action aren't my strong points. And yes, I actually _like _Nagi and Tomoe. So bleh!**

**Anyways, on to the Omake!**

**Natsuki- Um, ow?**

**Shizuru- Oh, Natsuki! Please, forgive me x25!**

**Me- It's just a story Shiz-**

**Shizuru- Silence, you!**

**Midori-Sensei- -.- I don't think she's very happy with you, Blake.**

**Me- Ya think?**

**Ume-sama- She is deffinitly pissed. -nods head-**

**Midori-Sensei- ...Why are you a potato? O.o**

**Ume-sama- Say wha~? -looks down- SHANE!**

**Shane- Wha'd I do?**

**Ume-sama- I'm a freakin' potato!**

**Shane- I told you I thought of you as a potato once...**

**Ume-sama- And I wasn't happy with that!**

**Me- Shane, do I have to fire you from being my beta/omake maker?**

**Shane- NOOOOOO!**

**Me- Then turn Ume back into herself.**

**Shane- -grumbles- Fine.**

**Ume-sama- Yay! I'm back to my sexy self! X3**

**Midori-Sensei- Come, my children. We must punish Shane!**

**-A bunch of chibi Midoris pop out of the ground-**

**Midori-Sensei- ATTACK!1!11**

**-Chibi Midoris chase Shane with huge axes-**

**Ume-sama- Much better. XD**

**Natsuki- You said it.**

**Shizuru- These smoothies are quite delicious.**

**-Ume/Natsuki nod in agreement while watching Midori-Sensei and chibi Midoris chase Shane-**

**Shane- NOOOOO! I WANNA SMOOOOTHIE!**

**Blake- -sits next to Shizuru- This is your punishment, so shut the hell up!**

**Shane- BUT I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE UP THIS STORY! YOU DID, BLAKE!**

**-Midori-Sensei and chibi Midoris pause in attack-**

**Blake- But you made Ume into a potato, which is why they're chasing you.**

**-Midori-Sensei and chibi Midoris resume-**

**Natsuki- Want another one, babe?**

**Shizuru- Yes, my Natsuki.**

**-END-**

**Chapter Song:**

**Dark Angel: Pain's Invention; Madness**

**_Chains shackle me_  
With truth I'm face to face  
Backed up in between  
_A damp cage I remain  
In the cell of numb despair  
The chill engulfs my veins  
There's only one notion that I revere  
The only truth in life is pain_ **

**It levels and crushes at its free will  
My doomed fate will soon be sealed**

**Pain's invention, madness  
Preys behind my eyes  
Pain's invention, madness  
Now I realize  
Pain's invention, madness  
Though I'll not break free  
Pain's invention, madness  
Truth eternally**

**_Beyond my grasp is a life  
That I will never attain  
Happiness, joy, not in sight  
_Supplanted by truth's dark reign  
****_Physical, mental agony shows  
Along which my life revolves  
Either you feel it, or you don't  
_There are never lies involved**

**Clutching to my abnormality  
Hand in hand with destiny**

**_Pain's_ invention, madness  
Preys behind my eyes  
_Pain's_ invention, madness  
Now I realize  
_Pain's_ invention, madness  
_Though I'll not break free_  
_Pain's_ invention, madness  
Truth eternally**

**When you are pumping full of life  
The one sensation that you have  
Can penetrate through love or hate  
Existence on a higher plane  
In death and life, both the domains  
_Surrender totally to pain_**

**_I slip and claw and scream_  
It calls  
Leave me alone with me  
It yearns  
I'm bleeding from my brain  
It needs me  
_I'm helpless, trapped_ behind  
Its walls  
Tearing apart my mind  
****_It burns  
_Upon my naked soul  
It feeds**

**Streams of consciousness fill the page  
_As my nerve endings scream in rage_  
Deliver me to the darkest age  
As DeSade sits at center stage**

**My flesh is but a portal now  
To wisdom and truth I am avowed**

**_Pain's_ invention, madness  
_Pain's_ invention, madness**

**Twisting through the door  
Am I nevermore?  
My breath I can feel  
Therefore I am real**

**I've succumbed to there heinous sins  
And I'll never be forgiven  
_Shackled and bound_, my new life I've found  
And I've tasted the fruits forbidden**

**I've craving more  
_Of pain's overtures_  
Liberation is near  
And I have nothing to fear**

**In this journey of self-discovery  
I have found the keys to be set free  
In this wicked course, I've uncovered the force  
That will keep me vital eternally**

**_Pain_'_s_ invention, madness  
The force that preys behind my eyes  
_Pain's_ invention, madness upon me  
_Pain's_ invention, madness  
It takes this long to realize  
_Pain's_ invention, madness, has set me free**

**Transcendency  
Of mere mortality  
_Tortured infliction_  
Is now my addiction  
_Constant agony_  
Has created me  
**_**I am suffering  
Through this atrocity**_

**I'm not blind to what I might find  
Squirming way down deep inside my labyrinthine mind  
Inhibitions removed, _replaced with scar tissue_  
_And I'm punished with blades_ of my lobotomizing suit**

**I've sought this dream  
_In its violent extreme_  
Now my pleasure is clear  
_Though the lesson's severe_**

**_My will is strong_, but I could be wrong  
This new doctrine for which I've been searching all along is  
The religion of truth through **_**administration of pain  
The body only takes so much before it drives the mind insane**_

**As a matter of fact, my friend  
I've come to my bitter end  
It's not _a torture rack I'm in_  
Though I can still pretend  
It's a jacket of white with buckles and straps  
****_Not a pleasure device at all  
_It keeps me safely under wraps  
While I'm chained to this padded wall**

_**Hear my cries...  
You'll never know**_

**What a nice song, aye? Read and REVIEW**


	5. Burning

**My apologies. Been held up with my friend's b-day party a few days ago. Thanksgiving prep. before that, and then having to recover from the Christmas rush thingy. _Then, _my girlfriend got sick from the H1N1 thing for, like, a week or so, thus distracting me thoroughly from this story. Then there was Valentine's Day and me trying to get enough money to do something special for my girlfriend, which led me to doing overtime at my job. -.-" Plus, my teachers overloaded us with a bunch of homework and projects. I am _so _testing my "Conspiracy To Prevent Teen Happiness" theory. Then, there was TAKS. As you can tell, life has been hectic for me as of late. However, I will now be updating quicker since there's nothing to distract me for a while...hopefully.**

**Shane- OI! Stop using most of my excuses!**

**Me- What do you need excuses for? You're a middle schooler.**

**Shane- Yeah, but I'm going to a high school/college next year. **

**Me- -.-" Whatever. Enjoy the chapter I finally got out**

**...**

**...**

**...**

It had been a melancholic, hectic month for Natsuki's friends and family. Nao's vision did not help with their already high stress levels, blood pressure, and worry; it intensified them. They knew a person could withstand only so much torture, and while Natsuki was one of the strongest, stubborn individuals they had the pleasure of knowing, she still had a breaking point. As much as many would like to deny it, she _is_ still human, cold to many as she may be. She still cried the same, hurt the same, and laughed the same as any other person. It was only a matter of time, everyone knew.

Youko didn't know what to think of the pinkish gem on the table that was supposedly the usb drive. _This isn't even a usb drive. It's a rare...gem. This thing cannot possibly hold any secrets about the A.I.! _She heaved a frustrated snarl and pushed her rolling chair away from the observation table in the middle of the white lab and over to the high-tech computers a little off to her right. She heaved the pink and black gem off of her lap and onto the scanner that had taken over a month to fix after an earthquake had hit Otome-gem, thus limiting to studying the drive with not-so-technological means.

Despite this setback, Youko was immensly happy that she had the usb drive, now simply known as the "Black Star" force drive. Usb didn't quite cut it.

She pressed a few buttons on the scanner and the thing came alive with a loud buzz. Several moments passed before its commands were carried out. A long rectangular object ejaculated above the Black Star force drive and swept side-to-side, a wide, cross-hatching green lazer being draped over it. Once the scan was complete, the information was sent over to Youko's computer where a loading bar now showed. It reached the hundred percent mark, and then filled the screen with all kinds of codes that kept whatever information there was successfully hidden. Upon seeing them, Youko's eye twitched. She had no idea how to decode something this advanced and intricate.

She stood up and walked to the other side of the room, stopping before what appeared to be a speaker. She pressed the button provided and spoke into it, "All computer specialists, please report to Level 4, Section B, room 583. Your assistance is mandatory. That is all."

Within minutes, all personal requested arrived, prepared with lab coats, clipboards and pens.

"Thank you all for coming," Youko began. "I have a challenge for you. Whoever can decode this," She showed them her computer. "or knows how to decode this will bring us that much closer to defeating the A.I. I have a feeling that everything we need is behind these codes..."

**...**

**...**

**...**

"-couldn't go with them? Whaddaya mean? Surely the wall would have closed before the A.I. could make it through?"

Currently, Natsuki was telling Tomoe why she allowed herself to be captured from her recent mission.

"Of course. Perhaps a few androids would have made it through, and in retrospect, I _could _have escaped, but..." Natsuki paused for a brief moment. "but I didn't want the A.I. to know how we got into the city undetected. I didn't want them to know where that secret passageway lies, because it would have been easy for them to figure out the password and open the passage, which would lead them straight to H.Q." Her eyes lowered. "I just couldn't risk it." She whispered sadly.

Tomoe now understood why Natsuki let herself be taken prisoner. She wouldn't want to be the cause of the death of her loved ones or humanity's only hope, either. From everything Natsuki had said, Otome-gem carried nearly 1.5 million occupants capable of battle, and whenever the force drive revealed its secrets, that would be 1.5 million soldiers who knew _how _to **mass-murder **androids, instead of taking them out one-by-one, as always. Despite all this, they would never be prepared to deal with a sudden attack to Otome-gem, especially since many of them have families, which adds to the over-all population.

"I understand. You actually did a brave thing, Kuga." Tomoe shrugged and relaxed on her bunk. "I dunno if I would have the guts to surrender myself to the robots to save anyone. I'm not exactly the most righteous person, y'know?"

Natsuki sat up from her place on the floor. "If someone is very important to you, or if a certain cause it very important to you, you'd be surprised at what you would put yourself through to achieve what you feel that you must accomplish."

"I guess." Suddenly, "Did you leave a boyfriend behind or something? You look kinda lovesick or something."

Natsuki coughed and her cheeks reddened. "HELL NO!" She exclaimed, appalled. "I don't have time for that kinda shit."

Tomoe raised an eyebrow. "A girlfriend, then?"

"NO!"

"Are you straight or-"

"Why are we having this conversation?" Natsuki interrupted for the sake of her sanity.

"Cuz. My gaydar goes apeshit around you."

Natsuki was lost. "Your _gaydar_...goes _apeshit_...around _me_?"

"Yep. Can't tell if you're a lesbian or a curious straight girl."

"Mm."

...

"Well?"

"Well what?" Natsuki prompted.

"Are you a lesbian or not?"

"_WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO KNOW_?"

"The readers want to know, okay!"

Natsuki faltered. "Wh...what?"

"Nothing. Just answer the damned question!"

"FINE! I like women! Happy?" Natsuki's face was red.

Tomoe grinned, "Mm-hmp! Very."

The blunette sighed and fell onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling, arms spread out. "I thought this was supposed to be a depressing place?"

"Our interactions seem to be the light-hearted relief in life," Tomoe explained matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Was the confused response.

They didn't talk after that, choosing to enjoy the comfortable silence. They chatted idly through lunch about random things to keep their minds off of where they were and why they were there. The illusion of peace was ended when two heavy-built guards came to escort Tomoe to her "interrogation" room with none other than Fujino. Tomoe didn't return until half an hour after dinner was served.

When she had returned, the girl was beaten so badly she couldn't even walk on her own. The guards ended up dragging her the whole way and tossed her, literally, into the cell. Natsuki managed to catch her, almost dropping her, and help her onto the bed.

Natsuki figured Fujino was beginning to get fed up with the rebel's stubborn conscience and took her frustration out on Tomoe. It had been a month already, and despite the horrendous pain and suffering Fujino inflicted and caused the blunette, she had yet to extract even a bit of information from Natsuki. Not even a peep. One can imagine how trying that could be.

_I'd sooner die than tell that bitch anything that would end everything I have worked so hard for. Hell, I probably _will _die here before Youko-sensei figures out how to activate that gem thing. I've survived two and a half months...how much longer can I last?_

**...**

**...**

**...**

Her body was tense, fists and jaws clenched tightly to the point of whiteness. Nostrils flared from ragged breathing, quick breaths. A pink tinge colored her cheeks. Shizuru stared at the recently bloodied wall, ruby orbs blazing with a fierce intensity.

She was fucking _pissed off_.

That rebel, Natsuki, was quickly wearing away at her nerves as the days passed. The bitch was just so _resilient _against everything Shizuru threw at her! Why couldn't she just give up already? All she was doing was bringing herself pain; unnecessary pain, at that. There was no way Natsuki could hold out information for much longer- Shizuru could feel her silence vigil beginning to wear away, cracking under constant strain.

_That-that fucking little shit! _Shizuru growled gutturally and entangled her hands in her hair, pulling viciously. She threw her back against the wall and slid down the wall, leaving a smear in the still-wet blood behind her. _Why does she push my buttons like this? I could care less if she talks or not- I still get to draw that sweet, sweet blood from her precious body. She's just such a damn smart-mouth, I want her to sing a new tune for once, to the music of begging and pleading. That would be a welcome change of pace._

Shizuru's hands dropped to the cement floor. "Why does this girl bother me so much?"

**...**

Fire. This pain was like fire to Natsuki's body: fierce and excruciating. It hurt so bad, she wished her skin would fall off of her body so that she wouldn't feel the agony of electricity frying her nerves. She clenched her teeth together and screwed her eyes shut as her back arched off the metal table with every wave of electricity that scorched through her body. Tears and screams escaped from her.

The process repeated: electricity, pain, a sudden stop, then restart. Natsuki felt as if the cycle would never end. She prayed it would, prayed harder than she had ever done in her life. _Never _had any of her sessions been so unbearable. There had always been breaks, slight as they were, and miniscule conversation- mostly one-sided. Now there were none, and the dialogue came only from Fujino. Of course, the words were degrading and cruel, stating her perverse pleasure in Natsuki's pain. This was _nothing _like before.

Distant in her ears were Fujino's words. She could barely understand what that demon said: "Does it hurt? Does it hurt, you little cunt? Come on, show me how much it hurts." With every scream, crimson orbs became more crazed and Fujino's voice turned more demented. "That's right! _Scream!_ Scream to the fucking world and cry when it doesn't hear you! It doesn't give a shit about you! It won't hear you! It can't hear you! I'm the only one who can! I'm the only one who can!" And she laughed wildly, crazed. "I'm the only one who can! Hahahahahaha!"

Suddenly, a sharp, stinging pain on her abdomen evolved into a skin-charring burn, intensifying her agony. She forced open an eye to see what this new torture was. It was a metal rod used for branding cows, but there was no brand- only a blunt end that left angry red and white marks on her skin. Her head fell back. A gutteral yell escaped from her throat when the metal rod was forced against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. She pulled against her wrist and ankle binds desperately, trying to get free. The metal around her neck and hips made it impossible for success.

"Sream, scream, as loud as you can! No one can hear you; only I fucking can!" Fujino sing-songed as she forced the rod harder against the prisoner's thigh.

"AHHHHHH-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Natsuki screamed as loud as she could, causing the veins in her neck to become visible.

Fujino grinned scornfully. "That's right. _SCREAM!_ Ahahahahahahahahahahaha! _SCREAM!"_

_An hour later..._

Natsuki dully stared at the gray ceiling above her. Random areas of her skin and several parts of her body twitched constantly. Her body throbbed and ached and a severe migraine pounded in her head. She couldn't think at all; her mind was too fuzzy for any thoughts.

A face suddenly entered her field of vision. _Fujino..._

Fujino smiled at her. "Ara, ara, don't you look _terrible_. Tell me, do you _feel _terrible?"

Natsuki nodded dumbly.

"Would you like the terrible feeling to go away?"

She nodded again.

Fujino smirked and said, close to her ear, "Just tell me where Otome-gem is and how many people there are in it and I'll make the pain go away."

"And th-th-the p-pain go bye-bye?" Natsuki mimicked.

"Yes. The pain go bye-bye."

There was a brief silence. Fujino waited patiently, triumphantly. She _knew _she had broken the girl. She just _knew _it.

"Otome-gem..." The red-eyed woman was alert as Natsuki spoke, "Otome-gem is..._is_..."

"Yes?" Fujino urged eagerly. "Yes?"

"O-Otome-gem is..." A smirk suddenly graced the blunette's face. "Up your ass and around the corner, _bitch_."

Anger blazed in Fujino's eyes as she glared into emerald orbs, a snarl on her lips. She raised an arm and brought it down hard on Natsuki's temple, knocking her unconscious.

**...**

Shizuru chewed on her lower lip in frustration while glowering at Natsuki's unconscious form from her place on the floor. She fiddled mindlessly with her fingers, unaware that she was making her lip bleed. Many thoughts and questions were racing through her head; they were driving her insane! Every thought and question revolved around Natsuki no matter how hard she tried to get rid of them.

_Why am I always thinking about her? She's nothing special. She's just another one of those people who believe they can overthrow the A.I. I wonder if she realizes that's impossible?_

_Who cares? I most certainly don't! What she believes is none of my concern _or _care. So what if she's too stupid to realize her cause is pointless? That's her problem, not mine. And so what if she thinks she's helping to free humanity? She'll figure it out soon enough._

The taste of blood finally made it to Shizuru's senses and she immediately stopped massacring her lip.

_What is it about those people in Otome-gem that keeps her so loyal? Why does she let herself suffer for them? It's not like any of them would do the same thing for her, as is the way of humanity, so why? Perhaps she protects her family. Or perhaps she has a lover to protect._

Curiously, the thought of Natsuki having a lover back at Otome-gem made her heart beat hard against her sternum, as if in disapproval.

_How odd. The mere idea of this girl having a lover causes a physical reaction in me...strange. Am I jealous, maybe? Yes, that must be it. I simply wish for a lover, is all._

Shizuru convinced herself to believe this, not _daring _to consider a different, more obvious reason for this strange heart pain.

**...**

**...**

**...**

_My head hurts. _Natsuki thought with a wince. _My whole _body _hurts. _

She sat up slowly, clutching at her head. For a few moments, she simply sat there until the sharpness of her headache dulled. Once it had, she cautiously opened her eyes, preparing for the bright white light of her cell. Her vision was fuzzy, and she had to blink several times to clear it up.

"Kuga?"

Natsuki turned her head to the sound of Tomoe's voice. "Tomoe?"

The woman's face was now in sight. She was sitting next to her on the floor, since no chair were provided, a first-aid kit in hand.

"Yeah. I'm here." She moved to sit next to Natsuki on the mattress and placed the kit next to her head. "How do you feel?"

"Just fucking peachy," Natsuki muttered.

Tomoe rolled her eyes at her sarcasm and said, "Lay back down. Lemme see how bad Fujino fucked you up."

The blunette complied, too tired and achey to argue. She felt cool fingers on her stomach as her shirt was lifted up to her chest and then over her head. There was a hiss of sympathy from the green-haired girl. "Damn. Wha'd she do, burn you?"

"And electrified me."

Gray eyes widened. "I never thought she'd go _that _far. Are your arms and torso the only places she-?"

"No. There's alot on my legs. You can look, if you want."

And she did. Like Natsuki said, her legs had alot of burn marks that looked like they hurt. Some were still bleeding a little, a few were white and almost black, and the rest were an ugly bright-red color. There were several long burns, caused when Fujino had dragged the metal rod across her skin. Most of them were only first and second degree burns, but a couple were third degrees.

Upon seeing Tomoe's horrified expression, Natsuki said, "Fujino's _really _pissed at me for not giving her the info she wants. I think she wants to kill me." She chuckled humorlessly. "I'd rather she did and got it over with, 'cause I ain't gonna tell her nothin'. Not a _damn _thing. I have too much at stake." She whispered the last statement. Images of her family and friends flickered through her mind. The innocence and joy of the children, oblivious to everything, filled her with determination and will power.

She thought back to a time before Otome-gem existed, before the secret underground building was found. The lands had been engulfed in fire and destruction, smoke filling the skies. Utter mayhem had broken out in the cities as humans desperately tried to save themselves from the unrelenting A.I., or tried to fight back. Mangled bodies and limbs were strewn about; there was blood everywhere. Buildings were reduced to rubble and homes were completely disintegrated.

She had been to safe-houses, called "Garderobes". She still remembered all the people huddled together in the dingy Garderobes, praying that the A.I. didn't find them. She could still remember the look in their eyes when they were found: fear, despair, hopelessness, _surrender_.

Natsuki shut her eyes, pushing the memories back.

"Kuga?"

Emeralds opened. "What?"

Tomoe lifted the first-aid kit, saying, "I'm gonna clean you up, alright?"

Natsuki shrugged. "Sure."

Tomoe sighed as she looked at the meager medical supplies that had been given to her. There wasn't much that she could do for the burns, except apply some germ-killing alchohol and treat the burns with the conveniantly-placed BurnRx. It was unconventional, but it would have to do. Natsuki clenched her fists and jaw in pain as Tomoe cleaned her burns with stinging alchohol. She sighed in relief when the BurnRx was spread over her burns, relieving some of the pain.

"Sonuva bitch, that stung," Natsuki muttered, relaxing her body.

"Is the BurnRx working?" Tomoe asked as she put the first-aid kit away.

"Yeah. The burns don't feel so bad now."

The green-haired woman smiled. "Good." She looked at Natsuki's ratty jumpsuit that lay rumpled on the floor, most likely covered with all kinds of germs, then at her body, covered with open wounds. After coming to a quick conclusion she _knew _Natsuki would NOT like, Tomoe added, "But, you're gonna have to sleep without that jumpsuit."

With speed a bullet would be jealous up, Natsuki shot up into a sitting position. "WHAT!" Immediately, she curled into herself in pain, a grimace on her face.

"Kuga, you dumbass!" Tomoe exclaimed as she rushed over to the woman's side and helped her lie back down. "What the fuck are you trying to do, make everything bleed?"

"Well why the hell do I gotta sleep in my underwear?"

Gray eyes rolled in exasperation. "Because, _moron_, you have a bunch of open wounds and that jumpsuit is dirtier than dirt. They'll get infected and shit and you'll get sick."

"Oh. But I still don't like it."

Tomoe waved her off, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shove it." She muttered, climbing onto the top bunk.

They lied in their beds in silence. The lights went out after a little while, shrouding them in darkness.

"Hey Kuga?"

"Yeah?"

"If Fujino wasn't, y'know, insane, would you do her?"

There was a brief silence. "Goodnight, Tomoe."

Tomoe pouted. "Oh, come on! She's hot!"

"Good_night_, Tomoe." Natsuki insisted with a gruff voice.

"Fine, fine." More silence. "So would you?"

"Oh my God, woman! Give it a bloody rest!"

Tomoe snickered and leaned over the side of her bunk, the very dim hall light providing just enough light for her to see Natsuki. "Since when are _you _English?" She was met with a pillow to her face.

Sulkily, the green-haired woman returned to her bunk.

"I'd give her the ride of her life, dammit!"

Together, they fell into harmonious laughter, the day's stress relieved.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**My sincerest apologies for the tartiness, but I hope y'all aren't too mad at me.**

**Shane: I'm sure they've faced longer waits when it comes to chapter updates.**

**Me: Si, pero...**

**Shane: English, woman. -.-**

**Me: Sorry.**

**The omake will be short today.**

**Natsuki: Oh yeah, I would so do her!**

**Shizuru: I should hope so, Na-tsu-ki.**

**Natsuki: -winks- You know it, sweetness!**

**Tomoe: Natsuki's being a playboy!**

**Ume-sama: Damn straight!**

**Me: Where'd you come from?**

**Ume-sama: No where...-runs away-**

**Me: Ooookay...-sweatdrop-**

**Natsuki: Let's go baby.**

**Shizuru: Hai!**

**Told you. Chappie song!**

**Ashes of the innocent**  
**The end for you and me**  
**_Darkened screams of agony _are begging set me free**  
**_Mourning all your loved ones_, as their bodies turn to stone**  
_**Violence, hate and agony are what we've grown to know**_

**Hold me, show me, _bring me to my knees_**  
_**So as the fire burns and the tables turn **_  
_**we'll never rest in peace**_  
_**Rest in peace**_

**Ashes of the innocent**  
_**Remind me of the past**_  
_**Taking scars of victory **_  
_**The time has passed to fast**_  
**Singing broken melodies like shards of broken glass**  
_**Ripping through my reverie**_  
**_These scars will_ never _last_**

**Hold me, show me, _bring me to my knees_**  
_**So as the fire burns and the tables turn**_  
_**We'll never rest in peace**_

**Hold me, show me,_ bring me to my knees_**  
_**So as the fire burns and the tables turn, **_  
_**We'll never rest in peace**_  
_**Rest in peace**_

**Ashes of the innocent**  
**The end for you and me**  
**_Darkened screams of agony _are begging set me free...**

**Hold me, show me, _bring me to my knees_**  
_**So as the fire burns and the tables turn**_  
_**We'll never rest in peace **_  
_**Rest in peace**_

**Hold me, show me, _bring me to my knees_**  
_**So as the fire burns and the tables turn**_  
_**We'll never rest in peace **_  
_**Rest in peace**_

**R&R, plz. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! XD**


	6. Intimacy

**Wuzzup! Back with anotha chap, but it's just a filler. THERE WILL BE SHIZNAT!**

**In a later chapter.**

**Ume: Way to give us false hope. -.-"**

**Me: Whaaat? It's too soon for them.**

**Ume: Whatev's. 9.9**

**Helpful tidbit: Bold is screaming, non-bold is singing.**

**WARNING: SEX SCENE UP AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_There's death everywhere I look_  
_Hatred gleaming in through the book_  
_Of lies, agony, let's cause a fuckin' fatality_  
_Burn the world!_

_Let's die die die!_  
_And kill kill kill!_  
_Til nothin's breathing_  
_Til nothin's livin'_  
_Let everything bleed and bleed and bleed_  
_Bleed out your fucking life!_

Shizuru leaned against the bar she was sitting at, nursing a beer. Several waitresses flitted about taking orders in the dark room while most of the other patrons danced to the music. The lights flashed, giving the dancing people choppy-looking movements. She faced the band currently playing, DEATH!StROke, at a club she fancied, called Midnite HourZ. It was a goth club, and although it wasn't her lifestyle, the people here were the only ones she could relate to, if only slightly.

Dressed in black leather jeans, a purple and black corset, purple and black lace-up arm warmers, and buckle-up high heel boots, Shizuru was one hell of a sight. She constantly had eyes on her, undressing her, eye-sexing her. Several men had the audacity to look at her with lust-filled eyes and beckon to her, like they were suave enough for her to seduced by them. Those lewd actions irritated her to no end. As if any of them had a chance! The idea was laughable. Shizuru thought in disgust, absent-mindedly playing with the howling wolf pendant that hung just above her cleavage. She had no idea where the pendant came from -she didn't remember ever buying it or someone giving it to her-, but she felt strangely attached to it, even protective of it.

Miserable wretches.

"Excuse me, miss," A man with green liberty spikes, dressed in a fishnet shirt and baggy, chained pants, said. "I was wondering if you'd like to dance?"

Shizuru smiled politely, but declined. He walked away with a sag in his shoulders.

She scanned the dancers and frowned, taking another swig of her beer. Most of them were androids, but there were a few humans mingling, as well. They were probably looking for a good fuck, something androids were notorious for.

_And something I am in need of. _Shizuru finished off her alcohol, got off of the stool, and sauntered into and through dancing crowd. She headed straight towards the band, DEATH!StROke, or more specifically, the lead singer. She was a very attractive woman, with long purple hair, a black lace tank top, a black mid-thigh skirt, steel-toed combat boots, and a leather trench-coat. Shizuru unconsciously licked her lips at the woman's toned body and smooth, pale skin.

The singer/guitarist noticed Shizuru before she had fully reached her. She straightened up from tuning her blood-spattered Dean USA Splittail electric guitar and offered a half-smile. "'Ey, you wanna request a song or something?" Although she tried to act cool and nonchalant, Shizuru noticed the immediate interest in those blue-gray eyes.

"No," Shizuru smiled flirtatiously and moved in _very _close to the musician. "but I'd like to sing something, play a little song." She placed her lips next to the girl's ear and trailed her fingers down her abdomen. "It gets me _riled up_."

A shiver ran up the singer's spine. "Can you make it worth my while?"

Smirk. "Of course."

The guitar was suddenly shoved in her hands. "My band's all yours." She backed away and settled herself on the edge of the stage.

Shizuru grinned playfully at the wink sent in her direction and hopped onto the stage. "Hello, boys," She greeted the startled and confused men. "I trust you know Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson, no?" They looked to their singer, nodding when she sent them her grin of approval. "Lovely." She adjusted the guitar strap while the band prepared their own instruments for the song.

Once everything was ready, Shizuru began to play the intro to the song before singing in a low, sultry voice that captured everyone's attention.

_Sweet dreams are made of these._  
_Who am I to disagree?_  
_Travel the world and the seven seas._  
_Everybody's looking for something._

_Some of them want to use you._  
_Some of them want to get used by you._  
_Some of them want to abuse you._  
_Some of them want to be **abused**._

There was a musical break, and then a brief guitar solo.

_Sweet dreams are made of these._  
_Who am I to disagree?_  
_Travel the world and the seven seas._  
_Everybody's looking for something._

**_Some of them want to use you._**  
**_Some of them want to get used by you._**  
**_Some of them want to abuse you._**  
_Some of them want to be **abused**._

Shizuru broke into a short guitar solo**_._**  
_  
I wanna know what's inside you._  
_  
_Shizuru moaned the next words.

_I wanna use you and abuse you._

_Movin' on_  
_Movin' on_  
_Movin' on  
Movin' on_  
**_Movin' on_**

Shizuru broke into a longer guitar solo. She let her body sway with the solo, rolling her head so her hair fell into her face.

**_Sweet dreams are made of these._**  
**_Who am I to disagree?_**  
**_Travel the world and the seven seas._**  
**_Everybody's looking for something._**

**_Some of them want to use you._**  
_Some of them want to get used by you._  
**_Some of them want to abuse you._**  
_Some of them want to be **abused**._

The same short guitar solo repeated, while Shizuru sang the rest of the song.

_I wanna use you and abuse you._  
_I wanna know what's inside you._  
_I wanna use you and abuse you._  
_I wanna know what's inside you._

The song ended with cheering.

Shizuru bowed before getting off of the stage. She gave the band's singer her guitar back. "Let's get out of here."

"Tell me your name, first."

There was a brief pause. "Shizuru."

"I'm Rin." She grinned before yelling to one of her band members, "Oi! Asuma, get my guitar. I gotta do something tonight!" After sharing a knowing smirk, she left with Shizuru.

**...**

Shizuru struggled with her front door as she kissed Rin heatedly. When it opened, she pushed the purple-haired musician into the apartment and closed the door with her foot. They stumbled into a wall, mouths still locked together. Immediately, Rin's coat was pushed off of her shoulders and Shizuru's arm-warmers were tossed to the ground. They took a quick break from kissing to remove their boots before returning to the lip-lock.

As the heat steadily built between them, Shizuru decided to move their activities to the bedroom. She broke the lip contact once more. "Follow me."

Soon they were on her bed, Shizuru on top. Her hands rubbed against Rin's thighs and stomach, relishing the softness of her skin. She engaged Rin in a battle the tongues, who responded eagerly. As their tongues danced, Shizuru's hands slipped further under her tank-top to cup the girl's full breasts through her lace bra. She massaged them, smirking when Rin pushed her chest further into her hands and whimpered. Shizuru sat up, pulling Rin with her, and removed the singer's top. The bra followed suite. She pushed Rin back down and settled herself between her legs. Her hands returned to the girl's breasts.

Rin moved her hands to Shizuru's corset and started to untie it from the front. A warm mouth suddenly attached to her neck, and her movements faltered. She moaned as the red-eyed beauty sucked at a tender spot she found, making it difficult to concentrate, but she managed to get the corset off and fling it away, leaving Shizuru half-naked. Rin touched her skin, loving how smooth and perfect it felt over gentle, yet strong muscle.

Shizuru inhaled deeply when Rin touched her. She let herself enjoy the girl's touch for a moment, and then moved her head down to her breasts. She bit down on a hardened nipple, eliciting a cry, and then licked and sucked on it roughly, knowing that Rin liked it, if the hands clenching the pillows meant anything.

Her fingers traveled down Rin's sides and hooked on the waistband of her skirt and panties. Rin lifted her hips so Shizuru could remove both articles of fabric, leaving the purple-haired woman completely nude. Ruby orbs darkened even more with lust as they took in the singer's naked body. Slowly, she positioned herself above Rin once more, holding her body up with one arm. The other simply laid on her stomach.

"Tell me," Shizuru looked into blue-gray eyes. "Where do you want me to touch you?" Her voice was thick. She moved her hand up to Rin's breast, teasing it. "Here?" Rin bit her lip, shaking her head 'no'. "Then where?" She kissed her neck, waiting for her hand to be led.

Rin grabbed her hand and led it down and into her hot core.

"Ara, ara, you're so _wet_." Shizuru licked her neck before lifting her head. "_Dripping_, even." She smirked. "But what should I do, now? Hmm? Do _you _have any ideas, Rin?"

Rin groaned, extremely horny at the moment and frustrated Shizuru wasn't doing anything, except talking in that sexy voice of hers.

"You gotta say it." Shizuru whispered in her ear.

"Then fuck me." Rin clenched her teeth.

"Hmm?"

"Just fucking fuck me until I can't fucking move any fucking more, dammit!"

In a sudden movement, Shizuru penetrated her with her fingers. Rin gasped as she was filled completely, eyes screwing shut. Shizuru latched onto her neck and curled her fingers inside of the singer, hitting her g-spot. Rin moaned and gasped as a steady, fast rhythm was created with Shizuru's fingers. Thrust, curl, thrust, curl, thrust, curl...She moved her hips in sync with the brunette's hand, nails digging into her back and leaving red marks on her skin, even drawing a little blood. In response, Shizuru thrust into her harder, grunting with the effort. A light sheen of sweat covered their bodies.

Pressure began to seriously build in Rin's lower abdomen. It felt as if a coil was tightening in her body, preparing to release.

"Fuck," Rin groaned. "Shi-Shiz, fuck me harder. Harder. Faster." Her nails scraped deeper.

The pressure strengthened.

"Oh, shit! Fuck me! Fas-nnhgh-ter!"

Suddenly, Rin felt as if the coil released. She cried out and dug her nails into Shizuru'sback as an orgasm crashed through her body. Her eyes rolled into her head, whiteness being all she saw. Her body tingled and her chest heaved as she came down from her high, riding the after-shocks of the orgasm.

Shizuru removed her fingers and licked them clean. Rin bit her lip at the sensual sight, already anticipating round two.

"Rin?"

"Yeah?"

"Be prepared for a _long _night."

Rin grinned playfully. "Will I be undressing you further tonight?"

"That depends..." Shizuru reached for the drawer in her night stand and pulled out fuzzy handcuffs, a whip, and a strap-on. She held them up for Rin to see. "Will you use these on me?"

The image ran through Rin's mind and she shivered at the sight.

"Get on your hands and knees on the floor." Rin ordered. Excited that Rin was going to use the toys, Shizuru eagerly complied. "Ooh, you're a bad girl," Rin held a naughty grin on her face as she paced around the brunette. "Have you been bad?"

In the sluttiest voice she could manage, Shizuru said, "Oh yes, I've been _very _bad." She looked up.

Rin brought the whip down on her. "Did I say you could look up?" She asked in a faux angry tone.

"No."

"I guess I gotta punish you." She whipped her again. Shizuru bit her lip and moaned sharply. "You like that, don't you?" She whipped her again. "Bad girl. Tell me you've been a bad girl." She whipped her again.

"I've been a bad girl."

Rin brought the whip down.

"Mmp! I've been a bad girl."

She whipped her again.

Shizuru cried out. "Ah! I've been a very, _very _bad girl!"

Rin whipped her again. "That's right, and like all bad girls," She held up the handcuffs. "you need to be..._restrained_. Now, get on the bed." When the red-eyed woman was on the bed, Rin cuffed her to the bed-posts. She trailed the whip between her bare breasts, saying, "Bad girls don't get mercy. Are you a bad girl?"

"I'm a bad girl."

"Do you deserve mercy?"

"Hell no."

In a flash, Rin pinched her hardened nipples. _Hard_. Shizuru gasped. "Language." Rin smirked and tsked. "Bad girl."

_Ara, I don't think I'll last through any more foreplay..._

As if sensing her thoughts, Rin said, "I think it's time to punish the bad girl, don't you think?"

"Yes, teach me a lesson, master." Shizuru lowered her eyelashes, giving her a sensual look.

Rin tossed the whip away. "No talking, or else." She glanced pointedly at the strap-on.

_She wouldn't dare!_

The musician leaned down and roughly captured Shizuru's lips. Their tongues wrestled against each other, fighting for dominance. As they kissed, Rin ran her hands over the brunette's breasts, creating friction. Shizuru arched into her touch, craving more.

She moved her hands down her stomach to her leather pants and unbuttoned them. She pulled away from the kiss and pulled the pants off, slightly struggling with the tight material. Once they were out of the way, Rin made quick work of the (sexy) thong. She gave Shizuru a twice-over, appreciating the view. She could already see the wetness between her legs.

"Aren't you excited?" Rin teased as she put on the strap-on. "Time for your punishment."

Shizuru's center throbbed in anticipation.

Rin settled herself between her legs, positioned the toy at the brunette's opening, and thrust into her. Shizuru gasped as it filled her completely. Rin adjusted the ruby-eyed beauty's legs over her shoulders and began to grind against her, speeding up whenever the cries of ecstasy quickened.

The singer's hot mouth was on her neck, kissing and breathing. Shizuru was close to falling over the edge. The brunette struggled against her bonds as her pleasure increased. With her arms so far away and being unable to grab onto anything, she surrendered to sweet torture.

Hard and fast was Rin's strategy, and so far, it was working. The other woman's writhing was much more prominent than before -she was desperate for release. _And she's about to get it, _Rin thought. She began to rub Shizuru's clit, which earned her a sharp cry.

Before she realized what was happening, strong waves of pleasure were rolling over her as she came. She tasted something metallic, but ignored it, lost in the throws of passion. For a few precious seconds, she was satisfied.

"Son of a bitch..."

Shizuru opened her eyes and was met with a bloody shoulder. "Ara, what happened?"

Rin winced as she eyed the bite. "You bit me when you came."

Crimson widened. "Oh."_ So what? It'll heal. _"Are you okay?" _Can you still fuck?_

The goth musician snorted. "Duh. Not like it'll kill me." She shrugged her uninjured shoulder and pulled out of Shizuru so she could remove the strap-on.

"Rin?"

"Hmm?"

Shizuru grabbed her wandering hands and looked her dead in the eye. "When I get up tomorrow, please be sure that you leave. I have work, not to mention this is a one-time thing. I'd rather not deal with someone who thinks we can be more. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, relationships ain't my thing." She returned to touching Shizuru's stomach and sides absent-mindedly. "I'll be gone before you even finish your shower."

"Good."

Rin chuckled lowly. "So...anything else you wanna say, or can we continue?"

Shizuru growled and flipped her over.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Natsuki shot up in her bed, breathing heavily. She clutched at her chest where her heart was in pain. Tears fell from her closed eyes, her face grimacing. She whimpered quietly, trying not to wake Tomoe.

"Kuga? Kuga, what's wrong?" Tomoe was by her side in a flash, a hand on her upper back. "What, is it your heart?"

Natsuki nodded.

"Can you breathe alright? Is anything numb? Can you understand me, see me?" Tomoe asked, hiding her panic.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes. It just...hurts." Natsuki breathed deeply for several minutes. Eventually, the pain subsided.

"What was that all about, Kuga?"

The blunette shrugged, confused. "I don't know. I just woke up and my heart felt like it was being stabbed. It was like...I was being betrayed. It wasn't physical; it was emotional." Her brows furrowed.

They stayed quiet for a while.

"If you felt like that, whoever made you feel betrayed must be very important to you. Like, _really _important to you for your body to just be able to _feel _if something was amiss. The only things I can think of are twin bonds or a soul mate, but..." Tomoe shrugged and returned to her bed. "I dunno Kuga. That's just really weird."

Natsuki lay back down, her hand resting on her chest. "Tell me about it."

**...**

**...**

**...**

It was quiet in Nao and Miyu's room. They lay together in bed, listening to each other breathe. Nao was cuddled against Miyu's side, her head resting on her shoulder and her arm draped around the android's waist. Miyu ran her fingers through Nao's hair with one hand and held the red-head's hand with her other one. The lights were out, leaving the room pitch-black. Night vision allowed them to see the other, so light wasn't an issue.

They had finished training several hours ago and retired rather quickly afterwards. Neither had wanted to deal with the pity from bystanders and the sadness from friends and Natsuki's family. Things were hard enough for them as it was; they were as much of Natsuki's family as her parents and sibling was.

Both A.I. grieved for their friend as if she were dead, because the visions they often received were less promising than the last. In each one, Natsuki lost a little bit of her resolve and life. Her body was slowly decaying over the months, becoming thinner and multi-colored: damaged. She grew weaker and weaker...who knew if she would be able to keep Otome-gem a secret? It was a wonder that she hadn't given up yet. Many would have within the first month, let alone the fourth. Natsuki was truly one of a kind.

Nao wondered if she would ever see the blunette again. She prayed constantly to a God she didn't believe in, hoping the mercy and forgiveness he is said to have would see through her disbelief of Him and answer her prayers. If not for her, then for Natsuki. Out of all the people she ever knew, Natsuki was the closest she'd ever come to meeting an angel. Of all the people she ever knew, Nao felt that Natsuki was the most worthy of being saved from her Hell. She felt she was the most worthy of His mercy, for she had never met someone as selfless and self-sacrificing as Natsuki, not to mention merciful, non-condemning and compassionate. Nowadays, such a person was nearly impossible to find. And Natsuki was a believer -not in religion, but simply in God. It hardly made sense to anyone, but she did believe. She did worship. Sometimes, Nao wondered if He's what kept her alive and unwavering.

"Miyu? Do you think androids can go to Heaven?"

Miyu's eyes widened, surprised at her love's question. How could she answer that? "I don't know. Probably not, since everything we feel is a program. Everything we are is a program."

Nao looked into pink eyes. "But, A.I. were programmed to never disobey, and yet they did. They overlooked their programming and took over the world."

"Yes, but that was caused by one malfunctioning android, which infected countless others and started the war that still goes on. Our free-thinking has been caused by a virus, and that is why we are allowed to act and love as if we are human."

But Nao refused to believe her. She sat up and glared into Miyu's eyes. "My love for you was not caused by a simple virus! My emotions are not fake-!"

"All that we are is fake! Everything that we do -talk, breathe, feel, smile, love- was programmed into our systems! Humans made us, Nao, and a virus freed us. Had we not been manufactured, had we not been infected..." Miyu looked away, unable to finish.

"What are you trying to say?" Nao's voice wavered, but she refused to shed a tear. When Miyu remained silent, Nao shouted, "_What are you trying to say?"_

"If we had not been created...if a virus had not allowed free-thinking...you and I wouldn't even exist. Our love wouldn't even be possible. We are not real, Nao, even if we feel like we are. Even if we believe we are. We are A.I. ArtificialIntelligence. All that we are is a lie, even...even our love. What we feel is what our programming tells us we're supposed to feel. What we do is what our programming tells us to do. Nothing more. We are simply...smart machines." Miyu looked away from watery lime-green. She wished she hadn't been programmed to always tell the truth.

There was a long, tense silence.

"I can't believe you just said that." Nao's voice was dull. She sounded broken. "I can't believe you just- how can you say that? This pain I feel cannot be fake. These tears that fall cannot be fake. My love is NOT _fake_. I-I can't even believe you just said that." Suddenly, fire erupted in her eyes. "How can you just say that and not express _anything_? You know what, maybe _you're _the one who's fake, 'cause everything I feel sure as hell ain't!" Nao got off the bed and walked to the door. "When you realize how stupid you're being and how retarded everything you just said is, let me know."

Just as she opened the door, Miyu's voice rang out, "But I'm programmed to _never _lie. Never."

The door shut behind Nao. She slid down the metal, tears falling from her eyes, because she _knew _Miyu was right.

It just hurt so much.

_On the other side..._

Miyu hugged her knees to her chest tightly. Reality finally reared its ugly head.

She wanted desperately to be human so that she would know whether all that she was was truly a lie, or if somehow her emotions were real, and it was her body that was artificial. The pain of the thought that her love for Nao was not sincere and true crashed down upon her.

For the first time since her creation, two tears fell from her eyes.

**...**

**...**

**...**

"That was intense," Aoi commented, chest heaving.

"I know," Chie agreed, flushed.

Aoi snuggled up to the boyish woman and pulled the sheets over their naked, sweaty bodies, just in case someone came bursting in for one thing or another. _Again_. Now that her brain wasn't muted to the rest of the world, her usual modesty kicked in.

"It's been a while since I've been this tired out by you, Chie." She grinned, walking two finger up Chie's chest to her nose, which she tapped.

The tomboy pulled Aoi closer to her, almost protectively. "I just want to cherish every moment I have with you to the fullest." Emotion dripped from her words.

Aoi cupped her cheek in concern. "This is because of what happened to Natsuki-san, isn't it?"

Chie sighed, "Yes. I just want to make you as happy as I can in case...in case I..." She looked away. "I know it's been a few months since Natsuki was captured, but the reality is still fresh in everyone's mind. This existence we have is fragile; it requires sacrifices." She trailed her fingers up her lover's arm. "Sacrifices I could easily be a part of." She looked into the ice-blue eyes she fell in love with.

The brunette bit the inside of her cheek, knowing what Chie said was utterly true. Any one of Otome-gem's warriors could easily be taken hostage or killed in every trip to the surface for missions or test subjects. Hell, it was a miracle Chie wasn't one of them, considering how many times she went to the surface for what were missions most of the time. She should have been killed on mission to retrieve the Black Star drive, but thanks to Natsuki, she was still with her, still alive. Aoi would forever be grateful to the brave woman that was Natsuki for what she did.

"I hope Natsuki-san returns to us. She doesn't deserve to die in this war, not her. She doesn't deserve to be tortured!" She teared up, but did not let her tears fall. "She's too good for that, Chie. She's too good."

Chie sighed, "I know. That woman is admirable, to say the very least. I don't think she should be tortured. But I _do _think that she'll make it out of there." Chie grinned. "Natsuki isn't one to give up. It would take Satan himself for her to lose hope."

"Unless that woman _is _Satan in the flesh. Who even has red eyes other than him?"

The charcoal-haired woman shrugged. "Maybe she's an android. No one other than Miyu has pink eyes, after all." She pointed out.

Aoi conceded with that logic.

Chie smiled and lifted her chin, placing a chaste kiss on the brunette's lips. "Let's talk about less depressing things."

"Like what?"

The tomboy shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe what we'll do after we win this war?"

"I don't know. What do you think we should do?"

Light brown eyes twinkled. "Once the world is rebuilt to living conditions, since the deciding blow will destroy more places, I'd like to find a house in an uncrowded area. We'll live together, and maybe have a few kids who lost their parents with us. There'd be a dog or two, or maybe some cats, and a horse. Definitely a horse." Chie grinned. "The house will be big and filled with lots of furniture and random things we collect over time. I'd like to get a well-paying, not-so-stressful job that I can complain to you about, and read the newspaper in the mornings while you cook breakfast. I'll kiss you good-bye and drop the kids off at school, go to work, gossip, and then come home. We'll eat dinner, I'll do dishes. Then, we'll spend quality time together and with the kids, unless what we have in mind isn't so child-friendly." She grinned lecherously at that. "Then, I'll tuck them into bed, maybe read a bed-time story, and go to sleep with you next to me. I'll tell you I love you every day, all the time. That's what I'd like to do."

The blue-eyed woman smiled at that thought, her head rested on Chie's shoulder. "I'd like that, too, Chie. I really would. Some peace and normalcy is definitely the best future I can hope for."

"Yeah. I'll also get to have that "What are your intentions with my daughter" speech and that "You better treat that girl right. I raised you to know how to treat a lady!" Of course, this is assuming they're straight." Her brows wiggled playfully.

Aoi laughed. "Oh, Chie!"

"Whaaat? I really wanna have those speeches!" She whined childishly.

"I know. I know." Blue orbs twinkled. "You'd definitely make a good parent."

"Damn straight!"

They continued to talk about parenthood and a happy future. Neither acknowledged the possibility that either one of them or both could die, and instead chose to be positive about the whole situation. There was no reason to dampen the hopeful mood they were enjoying, to ruin the content atmosphere. Like everyone else, they would deal with that issue when they arrive at the crossroads, should they arrive. They hoped with all of their heart and soul that they would get their happy ending that many would not.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**See how fast I got this one out? Oh yeah, I'm awesome.**

**Shane: I updated the Melter of My Heart, finally.**

**Me: Good for you!**

**Shane: I'm seeing eclipse today, this Thursday, with some friends.**

**Me: Kewl :3**

**Shane: Yeah. This one actually looks good, for once. Hopefully, I won't be so disapointed. _Again_.**

**So, here's the chapter song.**

**Love, Sex, Magic by Ciara ft. Justin Timberlake**

**Ya touch is so magic to me**  
**Stangest things can happen**  
_**The way that you react to me**_  
_**I wanna do something you can't imagine**_  
_**Imagine, if it was a million me's talking sexy to ya like that**_  
_**Ya think ya can handle, boy if I give you my sleaze**_  
_**And I need you to push it right back**_

_**Baby show me, show me,**_  
_**What's your favorite trick that you wanna use on me**_  
_**And I'll volunteer...**_  
**And I'll be flowing, and going to go the distant place**  
**And nothing but shoes on me**  
**Ohh baby...**

_**All night showing, just you in the crowd**_  
**_Doin' tricks you never seen_...**  
**And I bet that I can make ya believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**  
_**So let me drive my body around ya**_  
_**I bet you know what I mean**_  
**Cause you know that I can make you believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**

_**Everything ain't what it seems**_  
_**I wave my hands and I got you**_  
**And ya feel so fly, assistantin' me**  
_**But now is my turn to watch you**_  
_**I ain't gonna stop you**_  
_**If ya wanna grab my neck, talk sexy to me like that**_  
_**Just do what I taught you, girl when I give you my heat**_  
_**And I need you to push it right back**_

_**Baby show me, show me,**_  
_**What's your favorite trick that you wanna use on me**_  
_**And I'll volunteer...**_  
**And I'll be flowing, and going to go the distant place**  
**And nothing but shoes on me**  
**Ohh baby..**

_**All night showing, just you in the crowd**_  
_**Doin' tricks you never seen...**_  
**And I bet that I can make ya believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**  
_**So let me drive my body around ya**_  
_**I bet you know what I mean**_  
**Cause you know that I can make you believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**

**_This is the part where we fall in love_(Ohh, suga..) This verse is for Chie and Aoi. **  
**_Let's slow it down, so we fall in love _(Ohh...)**  
_**But don't stop when you give it to me**_  
**Ciara...**

_**All night showing, just you in the crowd**_  
**_Doin' tricks you never seen_...**  
**And I bet that I can make ya believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**  
_**So let me drive my body around ya**_  
_**I bet you know what I mean**_  
_**(You know what I mean)**_  
**Cause you know that I can make you believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**

_**All night showing, just you in the crowd**_  
_**Doin' tricks you never seen...**_  
**And I bet that I can make ya believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**  
_**So let me drive my body around ya**_  
_**I bet you know what I mean**_  
_**(You know what I mean)**_  
**Cause you know that I can make you believe**  
**In love and sex and magic**

**Yeah...**  
**Uh, uh, uh...**  
_**Yeah, I see you on the floor**_  
_**Get it girl**_  
**Love, sex and magic**  
_**I see you on the floor**_  
_**You know what I mean**_  
_**Get it girl**_  
**I bet that I can make you believe**  
**In love and sex and magic, _ow!_**  
_**I See you on the floor**_  
_**Get it girl...**_

**Well, since, like, half of the chapter is sex...I figured this song would fit. There's also love mentioning in the song and chapter...anyways, R&R, plz!**


	7. Almost Cracking

**Is anyone still reading this? Anyways, I'm sorry this is, like, reaaally late. I had forgotten to update my chapters, so everything got deleted by FanFiction...that, and I had no inspiration to continue...until now! XD **

**And, thanks to a reviewer, I'm going to _TRY_ to make my torture scenes more graphic and better and whatnot, and if they're not, well, I'm still learning! Of course, if someone would like to write them for me...:D Also, I know some (all) of the characters don't really seem like themselves, so sorry, but I'm not going to re-watch the anime to make them more realistic. Plus, they're meant to be OOC soo...please just bear with me.**

**Also, for any Spanish speakers that read my random conversations, forgive some of the incorrect words and grammar. Shane decided to use google translator to make sure they were in correct context. -.- I noticed this as I was re-reading my chapters...smh**

**...**

**...**

**...**

Hector Sanders snarled viciously, sweeping his arms across his desk. Papers, pens, and other office materials were sent flying to the floors. He grabbed his chair and flung it through the large window that make up one wall, leaving a large, jagged circle in it. He punched the wall, his fist easily penetrating the hard plaster. He was boiling with his artificial anger. All he wanted to do was go on a murderous rampage. Kenjo-san's reports had not satisfied him in the least and time was running out. He knew that Kuga prisoner was the key to destroying the one threat against his dictatorship: Otome-gem.

He knew all about the plans of creating a weapon that would mass-destroy all enemy A.I. units. He also knew the gem that contained all secrets of the A.I. race had been stolen and taken to the underground fortress. It would only be a matter of time before the codes were cracked and his empire would come crashing down.

Forcing himself to calm down, Hector retracted his arm from the wall and stood upright. He breathed in deeply several times before he smoothed and dusted off his suit, straightened his tie, and combed back his hair. Having collected himself, he called for a maid to clean up his office and repair his window and wall. The dictator then retrieved his personal items -a suitcase, hat, and several folders- and proceeded to leave the building.

On the way to his car, Hector took out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

_"Kenjo Daiki speaking."_

"Ah, Mr. Daiki," Hector cooed in a faux friendly voice. "I trust you know who is speaking to you?"

Kenjo-san stuttered, "_H-Hai, Sanders-sama."_

Hector smiled, even though Kenjo-san could not see it. "Good. Now, I must say, I am _quite_ displeased with your progress of Ms. Natsuki Kuga. It has been four months, and not _one_ crack has been made? Perhaps I made a mistake to believe you were the best option for the job? After-all, I very well could have transferred Ms. Kuga to Mr. Stanton's ward in Germany."

_"G-Gomen, Sanders-sama. She is very resilient-"_

"Then add more gas to the fire!" Hector shouted, his true mood slowly resurfacing. "Tell Fujino to step up her game, or so help me I'll send Ms. Kuga AND _you_ to Mr. Stanton! Do I make myself clear?"

An audible gulp was heard from the other line. "_H-Hai, Sanders-sama."_

Hector hung up.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Youko thumped her head against the wall in a rhythmic motion. Her forehead was bruised by now. She had spent almost three days nonstop trying to decipher _one_ code, and only cracked less that one tenth of it. The fact that it was one of the shortest and least complicated was what made her so frustrated by her lack of progress. The others hadn't fared as well as she had. One had yet to be broken, and there were hundreds more to go. Youko was frustrated, exhausted, and pressed for time. The stress was definitely getting to her.

"Fuck-" Thump. "-my-" Thump. "-life." She groaned.

"Sleep might be something you wanna look into."

Youko rested her head against the wall and sighed. "I can't afford to rest, Midori; it's been four months since Natsuke was captured. FOUR MONTHS! I-I _need_ to crack this gem! Who knows how long she has?" She clenched her fists, holding them to her temples in an attempt to ward off an incoming headache.

Midori frowned and pulled Youko into a comforting embrace. "I know how you're feeling. Everyone's feeling this despair, but don't kill youself over this thing, Youko. You need rest."

But Youko shoved the red-head away, eyes blazing with emotion. "Natsuki is out there killing herself for us, Midori! There is no time for rest. She's suffering worse than I am right now, and I'm going to do everything I can to help bring her back home! Even if it kills me!" She shouted.

"You know Natsuki, Youko! You _know_ she wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself! She'd want you to be taking care of yourself and doing all you can to help keep Otome-gem safe, _not her_!" Midori shouted back, her pent-up emotions now coming into play. "She knew what the hell she was doing! She knew she would most likely be killed in the process, however long it took. It was a sacrifice she made to keep us _safe_. How do you think she'd react if she saw you right now? Hm? How do you think she'd feel if she learned you were slowly killing yourself?"

Youko looked away in shame.

"Exactly. I know you're hurting, Youko, we all are! But it's your duty to be strong just like Natsuki and hold yourself together until this war is finished and we bring justice for all of the innocent lives that have been taken. You know that's something she'd want." Midori finished, her voice ending on a harsh note.

Several stray tears left wet streaks on the woman's face, but Youko wiped them away. With a wavering voice, she said, "I'm sorry."

The fragileness Youko was exhibiting calmed the hardened red-head. Midori sighed, shoulders slumping. She touched her lover's cheek. "Come on; I'll walk you to your room. You need to sleep." The tired woman followed her without complaint this time.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Shizuru glowered hatefully at the blunette that was currently tightly strapped to a Saint Andrew's Cross. She was steaming at the moment. Her and Kenjo-san's earlier conversation still echoed in her mind.

_"You called for me, Kenjo-san?"_

_He looked up from his paperwork before pushing it aside. He folded his hands atop the desk. "Hai. It has come to my attention that your 'meetings' with Kuga Natsuki have been...lacking." His voice was derrogatory and mocking as he spoke: "Honestly, your techniques are quite uncreative and lesser compared to your other 'clients'. I can't help but wonder if you are going easy on Kuga Natsuki, an action which will NOT be tolerated for she is our most valuable 'client'." He raised an eyebrow._

_Shizuru grit her teeth, but her face remained calm and composed, as usual. "Yes sir. I understand." Although she sounded slightly terse. She hated cocky bastards with power that regarded themselves as being higher than everyone else._

_"Good." Kenjo-san returned to his work. "I expect results, Fujino-san."_

_Crimson orbs narrowed. "Of course, Kenjo-san."_

_"You may leave."_

_Shizuru did so gladly._

Natsuki scowled at the brunette, her body aching from their previous meeting. A bad feeling had her stomach churning in anxiety. There was something more off about Fujino than usual, and it wasn't good. Normally, she was fairly calm until the torture began, but now she seemed to be bristling with negative and violent emotions. Something told her this would be the worst session she would endure yet.

Their eyes locked suddenly. Dread immediately filled the pit of her gut as a dark, uneven smile twisted the features of Fujino's face evily. The dim light shadowed her face in a way that gave her an even further sinister appearance. With a mocking wink, Fujino walked up to the weapon chest and pulled out a few new devices, as well as several familiar ones, Natsuki's gaze following her every movement.

The new devices were a cat o' nine tails whip with blades sewn onto the ends of each tail and an automatic thumbscrew. The familiar ones were a knife, brand, and a bottle of lemon juice and salt. _'For being so far into the future, Fujino sure uses some outdated torture devices...' _Natsuki absently noted.

Fujino cleared her throat, redrawing the blunette's attention to her. "I decided to stop these little games, my cute captive. You see," She placed the brand in the fire she had started before Natsuki entered the room and spoke in a suspiciously calm manner. "I've been trying _oh-so_ hard to not scar that pretty skin _too_ badly, but it seems that in doing so I have inadvertently gone easy on you. Therefore, I am not holding back: if you scar, or even become disfigured, so be it. There are, after all, many _other_ pretty girls to play with." She chuckled insanely, an eye twitching quite obviously.

Natsuki gulped, eyes wide. Fujino finally fell over the deep edge. She was screwed. If Fujino could actually step up her game, Natsuki doubted she could keep Otome-gem's secret for much longer. When she was stronger and healthier, there were no doubts in her mind that she would be able to keep her mouth shut. However, now she was severely weakened by the damage and injuries sustained in apparantly lesser torture sessions. She could hardly walk without support and could not move without pain. Everything that Fujino had done to her body inflicted smaller scars in her mentality. Her will to keep silent was breaking little-by-little. Natsuki could feel her own psyche slowly descending into a crazed darkness that terrified her to no ends. At this rate, she figured if she wasn't dead in the next couple of months, she would descend into insanity.

The touch of cool metal against her heated flesh brought Natsuki out of her thoughts and back to her current situations.

"I think I will first carve into your skin, my cute prisoner," Fujino murmured thoughtfully. She dragged the blade lightly over Natsuki's abdomen to her hip, hovering over the area where the slight protrusion of the hip bone could be seen. "What would you like: my name or...my name?"

Natsuki said nothing.

"I suppose my name will have to suffice."

Ever so slowly, Fujino applied pressure to the blade until in punctured the bruised and swollen skin and scraped against bone. Natsuki gasped and cried out as careful strokes were engraved into both her skin and bone. She squirmed against her restraints as best as she could, but it was to no avail. Every movement caused the blade to puncture her bone deeper and create more searing pain, so she did her best to keep her body taut.

There was a brief pause, suddenly, as Fujino walked to the fire and grabbed the brand that was now a bright red from the high temperature of the fire. Natsuki noticed the brand was the kanji for Fujino's name, except it wasn't Fujino: it was Shizuru.

_'Shizuru?' That name...' _Natsuki felt a twinge of familiarity before it was gone.

"Ara, ara, this will only hurt for a moment," She pressed the brand into the blunette's newest mark that was bruised, red and swollen, and still bleeding. Natsuki shrieked, automatically attempting to move away, but Shizuru only applied more pressure. The nauseating scent of burning flesh and the disturbing sound of sizzling skin filled the air, causing the prisoner's stomach to churn. "Or days. Whichever." Shizuru added offhandedly while removing the scalding metal and throwing it aside. The new brand stung something fierce having been left on Natsuki's hip for almost five seconds of pure agony.

"Hurt?" Natsuki forced in a strained voice. "It tickles!" She screamed when some of the lemon juice and salt was thrown on her burn. She threw her head back and strained her limbs against the leather binds and cursed roughly. The blistering skin throbbed as if it had its own heartbeat: the pain was intense. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She breathed heavily through clamped jaws, trying to ignore sharp ache of her hip.

_'Really, you dumb-ass, antagonizing this devil is only gonna make it worse on you.' _Natsuki sternly berrated herself.

Meanwhile, Shizuru stood with a fake smile on her face. "Kannin-na, Na-tsu-ki, but you must learn to behave. Time _is_ running out." She commented mysteriously before grabbing a different weapon: the cat o' nines whip.

Emerald orbs dimmed. _'Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, of fuck!' _Natsuki chanted in her mind, despondency written clearly on her face. Just thinking about the upcoming suffering made her ache. _'I hope this kills me...'_

The brunette carressed the whip lovingly, an almost tender smile on her face. "Ara, ara, I cannot believe I never used my baby on you! How silly of me!" She giggled. _Giggled_. Oh, she was off. "But I'm going to have to shackle you to the cieling again..." She muttered. "Chiinu! Itaitsuki!" She shouted.

The two large, muscular men hastily threw the door open, fearing the captive had gotten lose and was about to harm or kill the torturess. "Hai, Fujino-san!" They exclaimed in unision.

"Please shackle my cute prisoner to the cieling." Shizuru ordered sweetly.

The bodyguards relaxed. "Hai." They promptly did as the brunette instructed. When finished, they bowed and returned to their positions just outside of the door.

Once they were alone, Shizuru turned to the battered prisoner. "As I was saying, this is my favorite. Simple, yet _very_ effective." She emphasized strongly, a glint in her ruby orbs. "However, I am willing to give you a chance, Kuga-san. Tell me where Otome-gem is. I will even accept the general location."

Having experienced the sting of a bladed whip, Natsuki figured she could endure even this monstrosity of a whip. She doubted that she could withstand it as strongly, but decided to chance it.

"No."

A brief flicker of irritation. "Then suffer!" An arm raised, then swung down with a snap. The whips dug into the soft tissue of Natsuki's side and upper back, ripping away small bits of flesh with the bladed ends. It felt like being struck with nine white-hot metal rods and having them dragged across her skin a short distance. She yelped and cried out, squirming in her chains. Every strike brought upon new, stronger shouts and tears when fresh wounds were torn open even further. Natsuki gripped the chains with all the strength she contained in an attempt to dull even a fraction of the agony, her veins pushing against her skin from the strain. She wheezed in order to breathe because most of her air was being used by her vocal cords.

When Shizuru stopped, Natsuki's body sagged and trembled. She slipped a little on the blood that had accumulated beneath her while trying to gain her balance on shaky legs. Once she did, a brief glance down her body showed many open wounds that were bleeding profusely, some with skin hanging from them. To top it off, her bra had been torn off. She would have blushed if it werent' for the bloodloss.

"Ara, _now_ would you like to share some of your information Na-tsu-ki?"

But Natsuki could only shake her head in a negative.

Shizuru hummed. "How unfortunate." Now holding a thumbscrew, she politely said, "Please extend your thumb." Of course she didn't expect the blunette to follow her order, so she ended up yanking it in an outright position and fastened the thing on. Holding up a control with two simple buttons on it, she began to explain, "Green means the thumbscrew will slowly begin to compress around your thumb, and red stops it. Every time you don't answer a question, I will press the green. Do you understand?" No answer. She balled her fist and shoved it into the captive's diaphragm. Natsuki coughed and wheezed to catch her breath, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. With as fragile as she was, it felt as if she had been stabbed._"Do you understand?" _Shizuru stressed.

"Yes!" Natsuki managed in a tight voice.

"Good. Now then, I'll begin with a simple question: do you know where Otome-gem is?" Her thumb hovered over the green, ready to press it.

_No smart-assery, Kuga. Not now. _"Yeah..."

Shizuru grinned. "Do you know how many people inhabit Otome-gem?"

"Yes."

_'I have her now!" _Shizuru thought in triumph. "Where is Otome-gem, Natsuki, and how many people are there?"

Natsuki paused, and then sighed as if in defeat. "Otome-gem...is 35 degrees latitude and 48 degress longitude with a population of almost 2 million...on your ass cheeks!" She suddenly exclaimed. _'So much for no smart-assery...shit.'_

Crimson eyes narrowed in irritation. "Ara, you are not funny Natsuki." She then pressed the green button. "But _this_ is." She chuckled sadistically.

Slowly, the pressure around Natuski's thumb began to increase. She grit her teeth and endured the throbbing pain silently, her stubborn attitude haven awoken, at least, until the bone began to crack. "Fuck!" She cried out in a strangled voice. The pain was like having her thumb jammed in a door and multiplied by a hundred! That shit hurt like a bitch! This was the first time her bones were under stress, and it was way worse than just being whipped, or cut, or beaten black and blue. It was worse than being tasered a hundred times over.

"I don't think you'll talk even with this," Shizuru commented. "But I'll just leave it on until Chiinu and Itaitsuki set up for our last event of the evening!" She winked before calling the men back in to set up a weird-looking table. It was shaped like a sprawled out version of the human body so that the legs would be open and the arms held out in a flying position. The arm and leg areas looked like hollowed out tubes. Natsuki wondered what that machine did through her fog of pain.

"Ookini!" Shizuru said to the bodyguards. She looked back at Natsuki, her whimpers having caught the brunette's attenion. "Ara, I almost forgot!" She pressed the red button twice, and the thumbscrew stopped and popped off. Natsuki glanced at her thumb. It was black and blue, mangled, and bleeding. She grimaced and looked away.

Shizuru eyed it. "That looks painful." She flicked the appendage. Natsuki yelped.

"It is, you bitch!" Oops! That wasn't supposed to slip out.

However, the torturess only flashed a faux smile. "Fufufu! You're as sensitive as a little puppy! One little kick and it cries with its tail between its legs."

Steel emerald shot daggers at her.

Shizuru continued smiling. "Boys, please place her in the machine."

Chiinu and Itaitsuki did as they were directed quickly and without care for the injured woman, then returned to their post. Natsuki winced, the cold metal chilling her to her bones, but at the same time the coolness felt good on her injuries. It was sort of bittersweet, really.

"Now," Natsuki flinched as Shizuru trailed her fingernails up her spine, some dipping into the grooves made by the cat o' nines whip. It hurt. "I am going to give you one chance, my cute prisoner. You see, the femur, while being the strongest bone in the body, also hurts the worst. At least, that is what I have heard fufufu. Having your thumb crushed is _nothing_ compared to having your femur snapped," She snapped her fingers in emphasise. "in half. Either you tell me what I want to know, or you get to experience having your femur snapped," Shizuru's breath tickled the blunette's ear as she growled, "in half."

Natsuki shuddered at the threat. Terror coursed through her body. She wanted to tell this devil everything she knew in order to stop the pain. God, did she want to. But she couldn't. Natsuki knew that the moment she told Shizuru where Otome-gem is, she would be killed, the underground building would be infiltrated and destroyed, and everyone inside would be massacred. She couldn't let that happen. She _wouldn't_ let that happen, no matter the consequences.

"I can't," She whispered, a stray tear slipped down the side of her face and into her hairline.

The brunette tsked. "Of course you can. I'll even begin the sentence for you: Otome-gem is located..."

"I won't." Natsuki corrected herself with a hardened edge to her voice.

Shizuru shrugged nonchalantly. "Suit yourself, my cute prisoner. I'll just activate the bone crusher then." She held up what looked like a piece of rectangular glass. The outline of the human form was etched on it with lines inside that indicated bones. She press appeared to be the right femur. The area shined bright red.

Natsuki jumped at multiple feelings felt around her right thigh. Her knee and upper thigh were bound and secured tightly enough to where she couldn't move the limb at all. Then, what felt like a circular object began to press down on the top of the middle of her thigh. Gradually, it began to press down with over 2000 pound of pressure. Immediately, the bone began to fracture. Natsuki released blood-curdling screams and wails at the unbearable pain. She sobbed uncontrollably between the screams. The pain was so concentrated and intense that the blunette could not feel the rest of her body's injuries.

She began to beg for Shizuru to stop the machine. She had never begged before. "Please! Stop! Please, please, please!" She pleaded and cried. "I can't take it!" She wailed at the top of her lungs. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, stop!"

A demented grin had formed on Shizuru's face. _'There it is: the first crack.' _"Tell me where Otome-gem is!" She shouted to be heard over the screams.

"I can't!" Natsuki sobbed. "Please!"

A new degree of pain began as the femur reached its limit. The machine stopped there: Shizuru had to manually order it to continue.

"One. Last. Chance. You can still save your femur, my sweet Natsuki. Just tell me Otome-gem's location."

The captive whimpered. She struggled to speak; her concentration was on her breaking thighr bone. "I-It's..." She gasped for air. Natsuki couldn't take much more of this. "I can't..." She whispered after choking her sobs back. She squeezed her eyes shut, resigned to her fate.

Shizuru murmured, "What a shame", and gave the order. With a loud, gut-wrenching snap, the femur broke.

Natsuki screamed herself hoarse, the agony having escalated ten-fold. She could barely hear Shizuru cackling sadistically over her own wails. This was the worst pain she had ever experienced in her twenty-six years of life. It was indescribable.

"Make it stop! Please! Mommy! Mommy, it hurts!" In desperation Natsuki sought the help and solace of her mother, forgetting where she was until a cold hand gripped her chin. She was forced to meet crimson irises that she could hardly see through tears. "Today will be the last day I use these methods. The next time we're testing drugs that ignite all pain sensors in your nerves. I suspect the experience will be a _scream_." She chuckled evilly, her eyes darkening in malignancy. "And Natsuki? When we infiltrate Otome-gem, I am going to _personally_ deliver your body to your family before I slaughter them..._piece by piece_."

**...**

**...**

**...**

Miyu finally spotted her beloved Nao after hours of searching for her. She had planned to apologize for saying what she did so harshly after Nao had left their room, but the red-head had been avoiding her ever since. When Nao did not want to be found, she _wasn't_.

Unless she was hungry.

Currently, Nao was looking over the menu on the androids' section. Contrary to pre-A.I. existance, androids did _not_ function on a diet of oil. They also did not charge their batteries, since there were _none_ to charge. They are such a sophisticated science that they are able to ingest certain minerals that allow them to remain energized.

Miyu's stomach rumbled, but she ignored it for the time being. Nao was more important. She quickly zipped across the extensive cafeteria to her lover's side, for once grateful that the woman was completely oblivious to everything around her when it came to food.

"Nao, I would like to talk with you." She stated, causing the red-head to jump and spin around in alarm.

Upon realizing who it was, lime-green eyes narrowed in irritation. "I don't feel like talking." She stated snarkily and tried to turn back around to the menu, but Miyu caught her arm

"Please, I want to apologize."

At that, Nao began to relax. "For?"

Miyu retracted her arm. "For speaking to you in a harsh manner. I realize such truths aren't the easiest to hear, therefore I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did." She explained, fully expecting to be forgiven. After all, Miyu was NOT one to apologize for anything.

Nao tensed again. "I swear I want to slap you sometimes," Miyu widened her pink eyes. "I don't care that you spoke all mean and shit, I care that you believe our feelings are fake! Look, I don't care if it's "the truth", but Miyu...you don't always have to say it! If you have to, keep silent. Let me be oblivious to such things. I _like _thinking that my love for you is real, and vice-versa, okay? I like it!" Nao shouted. Yup, they were quickly becoming the center of attention. "And you know what, Miyu? I don't think-!" Suddenly, the feisty woman's words cut off. She gasped, then fell to the floor.

"Nao!" Miyu shouted in worry, quickly dropping down beside her. "What is wrong?"

"**...**Nnyngh!" Nao clutched at her thigh, her face contorted in strong discomfort. "I-I think it's N-Natsuki!" Out of nowhere, she fell flat on the floor. Her eyes were layered with a white substance, giving them a milky appearance.

Miyu watched with concern etched into her face. She may not be one to show emotion, but when a loved one seems to be in serious peril, she will drop all self-protective defenses. "Nao?"

The red-head shot into a sitting position, gasping for breath. Her pupils were dialated as she stared blankly at the crowd that had formed around them.

"Nao?" Miyu called once again.

"Miyu..." She locked eyes with the cyan-haired android. "It's getting worse. I don't think Natsuki can hold on much longer. That witch had her _begging_, Miyu! Crying and begging! She's never done that before..." Nao threw herself into Miyu's arms and sobbed, clutching onto the woman's clothes for support.

"She's not gonna make it..."

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Well, there you go. :) Hope you liked-ed-ed it! **

**I'll put up the chapter song when I can find one :)**


	8. Inner Workings

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys rock! :D I know some of you guys are wondering how I'm going to make Shizuru and Natsuki fall in love, and actually, I already know how that's going to happen. I will admit, I'm kind of worried it will seem too easy, or will disappoint you guys. :/ But whatever. As long as it happens, am I right? :D**

**...**

**...**

**...**

Shizuru stared at the wall Natsuki had been hauled through hours ago blankly, her thoughts a raging tornado in her mind. The weight of vague disappointment sat upon her shoulders. She hadn't enjoyed their latest session as much as she normally did.

The brunette had been experiencing these little pinches of guilt every so often when it came to torturing Natsuki. They hadn't appeared until after the first month, and they were only once every other week, but lately, the pricks of guilt had occurred every day. Really, it was more of a nuisance that Shizuru could easily ignore, but today's was stronger than the others. It was enough to prevent her from taunting Natsuki as much as she had done before.

Naturally, she took her frustrations out on the girl, but that only served to make her even more pissed. She wanted to curse her, spew all kinds of hateful, derogatory remarks at her, but that fucking bit of guilt made her act more civilized that she ever had when it came to their sessions.

Her jaw clenched in irritation, her fists so tight the knuckles turned white. What was going on with her? What was it about Natsuki that had her acting different than normal? These tiny stabs of guilt didn't occur with her other prisoners, so why Natsuki? Shizuru growled, her body tense. This girl...pissed her off! She just wanted to beat her into submission and make her crawl around like the little insignificant insect she is! To break her down with unrelenting torment! With a heated snarl, the brunette spun around and sent her fist into the metal wall, causing a dent. She stood in a hunched position, head down, fist in the wall. Her body trembled from her frustration and confusion.

Slowly, after almost a minute, Shizuru retracted her arm and let it drop to her side. She turned to leave the chamber and go to her office to make a cup of tea, something that never failed to calm her down. When it was ready, she took it and proceeded to the captives' wing, stopping before a certain cell. She stared through the one-way glass and took a sip of her steaming Jasmine tea. Her eyes remained in slits.

Inside the cell was Natsuki.

Shizuru decided to take the time to quietly study the girl. She had never really had the chance, or patience, to do so.

Natsuki lay on a cot, her face pulled into a grimace. Her jumpsuit was wrapped around her thigh in a makeshift cast, most likely in the hope that the bone would set correctly. The hope was in vain, since the chances for a correct healing without proper medical assistance were slim. Her body was covered in a thin sheet of sweat and grime. She was so skinny that the shadows of her ribs could be seen, the prominence of her clavicle was obvious, and the baby fat that had still remained in her face had gone, leaving her facial features sharp and angular. Natsuki looked...exhausted. Shizuru was almost surprised, considering how lively she was while in the chamber. Now, she looked small, sunken in; pathetic.

Looking at her _now,_ in _this_ state...Shizuru could hardly believe it was the same stubborn girl that adamantly refused to say anything about Otome-gem, even after four months of consistent, unmerciful torture, both physical and mental. Granted, she wasn't in charge of the mental torture, but she sure as hell aided it. Her uncharacteristic violence and rage prevented the brunette from being in charge for that _kind_ of torture.

Shizuru blinked, suddenly confused. Uncharacteristic? Since when was rage and violence uncharacteristic? Shizuru had carried such tendencies since she was little. She could imagine a younger version of herself starting fights and losing her temper easily over the smallest of things. Wait, imagine? No, not imagine. _Remember_. Right?

Shizuru shook her head. Natsuki was driving her crazy...

She switched her attention to Tomoe, who sat next to the blunette. They were having a somewhat strained conversation -at least, on Natsuki's part. Shizuru smirked, knowing the only reason Tomoe was still in the cell with the blunette and not dead yet was because the information she held was already known by the A.I. units and actions were already taking place to take over the refugee hideouts and capture the refugees. There was no need for the prisoner, but she was so quick to cry and beg that Shizuru could not bear to part with her just yet. Her other _toys_ were not as weak as Tomoe.

A small giggle came from Shizuru until she refocused her gaze on Natsuki. Her sour mood then returned with a vengeance. She took another sip of her steaming tea. Her mouth was set in a tight line that gave the brunette a hardened look to her naturally soft features.

What was it about Natsuki that caused _guilt_ inside of Shizuru?

What was it?

Crimson irises glowered disdainfully.

_"Why can't I hate you?"_

**...**

**...**

**...**

Midori awoke after half a days' worth of sleep. The familiar weight that had been settled on her only hours ago was gone, so the red-head figured Youko had gone back to work. She sighed, quietly hoping the woman had gotten a decent amount of rest; she needed it as much as Midori needed it. The green-eyed warrior had been training the 'cadets' nonstop since the mission that led to Natsuki's capture, so naturally she would be physically drained. She wanted them to be completely prepared when the time came to either overthrow the A.I. dictatorship or fight for their lives.

That time was approaching quickly. Midori could _feel _it. And it worried her. Otome-gem just wasn't ready. The weapons versus thousands of A.I. units would hardly put a dent in the enemy forces. The battle armor that was being created hadn't been finished. There wasn't even a safe-guard for all of the innocents -children, pregnant women, unskilled warriors, the few elderly- yet. These things took time, and that time was running out.

That Force Drive or whatever the hell it was needed to be cracked. From what Youko told her, if they ever got through all the defenses that had been added to it, the secrets about the A.I. would be revealed and Otome-gem would have one hell of a chance at reclaiming Earth.

Midori reached up to scratch her ear. Upon feeling the cool metal of a singular earring, her thoughts were brought to another weapon that needed to be fixed: the GEMs, which stand for Generable Enigmatic Matrix. They were another of Youko and her team's inventions. By activating the GEM, the wearer's strength and intelligence would be increased ten-fold. However, it had not been fully developed yet. The user was allotted a very brief time limit of use before the GEM would short-circuit and power down, rendering the user dangerously weakened. Supposedly, as Youko had explained, its use should be unlimited and more powers were supposed to come to surface, but all of the kinks simply hadn't been worked out.

_I should ask her to have a separate team work on the GEMs, since they'll at least be a major help if that Force Drive or whatever the hell it's called is of no use, _she thought as she prepared for a quick shower. After she showered, dressed, and ate breakfast, Midori went to Youko's lab to suggest her thoughts about the GEMs. Youko agreed after a few minutes' worth of discussion and light persuasion on the red-head's part. Midori took the agreement as her cue to continue with her other duties.

She was what everyone called the "Gakuencho", or headmaster, of Otome-gem, having been the one to found it. As such, she had countless responsibilities: finding supplies (food, water, clothes, medicines, etc.), making sure the electricity that kept everything going continued to run smoothly, keeping order and justice, providing as safe a hideout as she could manage, organizing missions to help create weapons and defenses against the enemy, keeping the androids from going haywire, and many other stressful duties. But Midori performed them with stride and what seemed like an out-of-place upbeat, hyperactive attitude. Many of Otome-gem's inhabitants were convince that the self-proclaimed 17-year old was on something, or just drunk all of the time. She _did _have a slight alcohol problem...

"Yo, Midori-sama!"

Midori turned towards the deep voice. It was Tate Yuuichi, one of the Captains of Otome-gem's seventeen infiltration and defense squadrons. "What is it, Tate-san?"

He quickly jogged towards her, a neutral expression on his face. "Homura-san wishes to see you. He says it's important."

"Nagi?" Midori frowned._ What does that little weasel want? _"Very well. Tell him to visit me in the Conference Room."

"Hai, Midori-sama." Yuuichi quickly bowed and went to deliver Midori's orders to the white-haired man.

/~/

The Conference Room was relatively large compared to most of the rooms in the underground camp, sized at approximately twenty-two by seventeen feet. All it housed was a long fifteen foot table and twelve chairs, all of which were gray in color. The walls were white, as with almost all of Otome-gem's walls.

Midori was already seated at the head of the table. She was impatiently waiting on Homura Nagi, the resident Inventor. He was actually one of the founders of the modern androids, though he looked quite young for his age.

Several more minutes passed before the door to the room opened. Nagi entered and casually sat on the opposite end of Midori. He lazily met her gaze, his usual sly expression present. "Hello Gakuencho-sama. How are you this lovely day? Or is it night?" He put a finger to his lips. "Hmm I can never tell now-a-days."

Midori simply glared at him sharply. "What do you want, Nagi?" She really did not like this guy...

Nagi pouted. "Mou, you're always so mean to me, Midori-_chan_!"

"Cut the crap, Nagi," The red-head growled. "What is so important that you _wanted_ to see _me_?"

The sly expression returned to the short man's face. "It's curious that even _I_, one of the main creators of the most recent A.I. units, cannot seem to find the off switch to them, isn't it?" He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "I've wondered why that is for the longest time. Surely _I_ of all people should be able to disenable the A.I. units' functions. So why can't I?"

Midori slouched in her seat. "The A.I. changed their operating systems so the creators, i.e. _you_, could not tamper with them." She explained the well-known fact with disinterest.

Nagi only chuckled. "Yes, they did. But the question we should have been asking ourselves is: _Did_ they change them?"

The red-head sighed. "Haven't you already proven that they did?"

The white-haired man shook his head. "I thought that is what they did. After all, I couldn't even access the A.I. units' basic motor skills. However, it wasn't until early this morning that I discovered that I was wrong. You see," He leaned forward, meeting the now-intent gaze of the Gakuencho. "I was once again trying to access the motherboard of one of the captives' brains in order to reach the M.O.P.(main operating system) when I ran into the same blocks as I did time and time again. And once again, I was busy analyzing the little electronic signals that prevented me from accessing the information I so desire when I noticed a most curious thing."

Nagi stood and began to slowly walk over to Midori, all the while continuing with his story: "You see, the M.O.P. is actually connected to the Central Nervous System of the A.I. units, not to the actual brain like most people believe. The Central Nervous System is located within the third vertebrae and inside the spinal cord. It controls not only the movement of the A.I. units, but also the electric signals that cause them to react to commands given to them. Knowing this, I wondered how the M.O.P. was overridden by the enemy forces until it hit me." Nagi was now only inches from Midori, and he leaned in, thus shortening the distance even more. The red-head looked thoroughly uncomfortable. "It wasn't." Nagi backed up, a triumphant smirk on his lips.

Midori's eyes widened. "Then how did the A.I. break free from human control? If what you're saying is correct, then they shouldn't have-"

"They _didn't_ escape from human control, my dear Midori-_chan,"_ He interrupted. "They are still _under_ human control."

"Impossible," She whispered.

Nagi leapt onto the table so that he was crouched before Midori. "Oh no, it's quite possible. In fact, it's true. All of the A.I. units are infected with a virus that allows them to only be controlled by a certain person, or perhaps a group. You see, all the A.I. units are simply "smart computers". They are managed just like computers are managed, and infected just like computers are infected. What happened to the vast majority is that a virus infected them. All were infected, but some, like the ones here in Otome-gem, had unique defenses that ended up eradicating the virus."

Midori stared into mischievous pink eyes. "What does this mean?"

Nagi grinned a surprisingly normal grin. "It means that if I can figure out just what defenses the A.I. units here in Otome-gem possess that remove the virus, we may not need that Drive as direly as we thought. Hell, we might not need it at all!"

"No shit?"

**...**

**...**

**...**

Natsuki was lying on her cot, eyes closed, but she was still awake. Like always, she was thinking of her family and friends, and the burden of protecting an entire society from harm at the cost of inhumane treatment. She wondered how she had managed to keep her mouth shut after all of this time. There were times when Natsuki just wanted to scream everything Fujino wanted to hear, and Kami-sama knows she was on the brink of breaking countless times. Those times were becoming more frequent.

Sometimes Natsuki wondered if slavery was really so bad. Not all of the androids were cruel. Surely most of the survivors would receive kind owners. Then, Natsuki would literally slap herself. What the hell was she thinking? She would never forgive herself if she betrayed Otome-gem.

Never.

But this torture was nonstop. Every day she was put through some sort of hell. It was a wonder that she hadn't cracked yet.

Sometimes she wish she did.

Then she slapped herself out of her party of self-pity. How selfish it was of her to put her own comfort above hundreds of others! Or was it selfish of them to place the dependence of their safety upon one person? But they didn't, did they? Natsuki got herself into this mess. All she had to do was swallow one little pill...

Natsuki sighed. Suddenly, her ears perked at the sound of humming. Familiar humming. Where was it coming from? Who was it coming from? Why is it so familiar?

Where? Who? Why?

Natsuki wracked her brain for a memory, or a hint. Anything. All that came to mind was her mother, but her mother never hummed that tune. Natsuki would know if she had, because her mother never hummed anything to her when she was little.

Suddenly, words surfaced to the forefront of her memory:

"Komorebi ni te wo kazashi  
Furimuite sotto hohoemu  
Shizuka na kaze no naku de  
Omowazu dakishimeta  
Terenagara me o tojite  
Yasashiku kisu o shita  
Anata wa nani yori mo  
Kirei na hana deshita  
Anata ga suki deshita  
Zutto suki deshita"

Unbeknownst to her, she sang the words softly out loud.

**...**

**...**

**...**

Eyes widened. How had Natsuki heard her humming?

...How had Natsuki known what she was humming? As far as she knew, she was the only person who know the words to the lullaby, since she herself made it up. Why she made it up in the first place was beyond her, but the point remained.

She didn't have a good feeling about this...

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Hm, so thoughts? Does this chapter seem more detailed, despite its shortness? Cuz I was working on that...and am I giving anything away too early? I have issues with that...**

**Any guesses on who was humming? (Even though you probably know who it was)**

**ShizNat is coming soon, so hang on just a **_**little**_** bit longer! Rushed stories are never entertaining, after all. **

**Anyways, reviews are very appreciated!**


	9. Author's Note

**Well...it's been a really long time, hasn't it? Yeah, I'm really sorry about the wait, guys. I don't have any justifiable excuses, so I won't give you any. I just realized I wasn't going to leave this story unfinished, because that would be unfair to those of you who have invested themselves into my story. I'm going to be going through my other eight chapters to edit them and hopefully fix some plot errors or loose ends, and maybe lengthen the chapters. This shouldn't take very long, maybe a week or so, and once I've finished I will upload chapter 9, which is halfway done.**

**/**

**I realize many of you are probably quite irritated/disappointed that this is just an AN rather than a chapter update, but I thought you'd all like to know this story hasn't been given up on and that an update should occur relatively soon. I just want to give you guys an improved story before chapter nine is put up.**

**/**

**On top of all this, after all of this crap has been taken care of, I'm hoping that I'll be able to update more regularly, but if that doesn't happen, then it will be because of my college classes. I won't promise to weekly updates, but I WILL promise to update, and that this story WILL be finished. Just don't give up on me yet, guys.**

**/**

**To those of you who are still sticking by, thanks a lot for the support! It really does mean a lot to me, and I appreciate you all! I recently read through my reviews, and all of you re-inspired me to fix this story up and not give up on it. So once more, thank you all. :)**

**Lots of love/thanks,**

**I.S.A.**


	10. Author's Note 2

**I'm sorry to say this isn't an update, but another author's note. I realize the lot of you probably want to beat me since I promised another chapter rather than an author's note, but if you could refrain it would be much appreciated.**

**Anyhow, I'm here to report news regarding Her Blood, Her Pain, Their Insanity; Their Love. You see, I was going over my chapters today while wondering what it was that caused my lack of interest when I realized the problem: it suddenly seemed too juvenile and badly-thought out to me. There are too many errors to fix in my opinion, and the overall direction the story is heading in is a brick wall. I just don't know what to do with it anymore. Finally, though, I have figured out what to do. On top of a title change, I have come to a difficult decision. While I am not giving up on the story, I will be almost completely changing it.**

**Before those of you who enjoyed the rare Shizuru torturing Natsuki thing decide to up and leave, I will be keeping that aspect. The actual devices and methods are what will change, mostly. The overall aim of destruction of the A.I. will also be kept. More than half of the story will be scrapped and replaced rather than its entirety. **

**I honestly think that if I just start somewhat a-new, or at least enter fresh ideas, I will update more often and the quality/length will improve. Once again, I do have school and other responsibilites to deal with, so I won't update _that _often. My aim is that once I get the new outline written (it's a new technique I'm using that will hopefully make updating quicker) I'll be able to update at least once every two weeks, if not sooner. **

**My plan is to wait about a week to make sure most of you have read this before I delete the chapters that are to be replaced. Afterwards, I will edit the few chapters that will remain in order to correspond with the new direction this story is headed. Lastly, I'll change the title.**

**Before I sign off, I'd like to say I'll understand if some -or all- of you guys just give up on me. I've been rather volatile with this story, and on top of that I've given false hope with the previous author's note. I have been unreliable for those of you who have remained loyal and awaited any updates and have more than likely let many of you guys down. For all of this, I am truly sorry. I can only ask you all to once again give me another chance.**

**Sincerely and solemnly,**

**~I.S.A.**


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